How to be properly plastic-free in the kitchen

Melissa Palinkas, head chef of Fremantle restaurant Young George, is determined to run her kitchen plastic-free.

"My motivation was simple," she says. "I hated seeing my bins overflowing with disposable plastic after a busy weekend. I actually started to feel guilty about how much plastic the restaurant put in the bin."

After she and her sous chef did the sums, Palinkas discovered not only did they wade through hefty amounts of plastic everyday, but also the financial cost over a one-year period was substantial. "Purchasing environmentally friendly plastic-substitutes is a big one-off investment for the business, but if it means a plastic-free kitchen, it's worth it."

Running a plastic-free kitchen where Palinkas, six chefs and three kitchen hands serve around 200 dishes a day, and even more on weekends, took some planning. "Making the change demanded some restructuring," she says. "But the transition went smoothly. It was really a case of my chefs reworking their fridge storage - that's what made the biggest difference."

The transition from disposable containers to indestructible polycarbonate containers with lids has made an impact. "We only use washable containers with lids, which means we use minimal cling film," Palinkas says. "I haven't bought a roll of cling film in over a year!"

Making the transition has been a game changer for the restaurant and staff. "It is critical for us to work plastic-free in our kitchen. It makes us feel like we are doing our part to help the environment."

How to be plastic-free in the home kitchen

• Only use washable or biodegradable containers and jars.
• Save jam jars and use them for storage.
• Eliminate the need for cling film by committing to containers with lids.
• Choose your dish cleaning equipment thoughtfully and buy natural bristle bottle brushes and washable dishcloths.
• Choose wooden cooking utensils over plastic ones.
• Only buy fresh food loose or packed in cardboard.
• Never use plastic bags. Instead, always have a stash of cloth carry bags on hand for toting your produce.