To be honest, I didn’t use a lot of cling wrap to begin with so this swap was a fairly easy one. Since starting the plastic free-ish challenge, I have built habits of putting food in containers or Stasher Bags more than wrapping them, and it has reduced a lot of my cling wrap use. Still, I wanted to have an alternative for the times I do need to wrap food so I chose swap number 11 to be finding an eco-friendly cling wrap alternative. Here’s how it went.
Cling Wrap Alternative – Plastic Free-ish Challenge #11
Disclaimer:
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What cling wrap alternative I chose
I bought a variety pack from Bees Wrap
. This included 2 small, 2 medium, 2 large and 1 bread wrap and cost $42.
How to use them
One of the great things about swapping to a Bee’s Wrap is that they are very easy to use.
When you first use the wrap, you need to roll and grab it a bit to soften it and get the stickiness to activate. Once it is warmed up, it will stick to itself.
That’s an important thing to know for when you use it – it will stick to itself, not a container or food. When you are sealing just make sure it’s sticking to itself.
After you have warmed up the wrap, use it as you would cling wrap.
Remember to stick the wrap to itself to seal it
Other tips for using a Bee’s Wraps
There are some things you cannot use the Bee’s Wrap for. These are:
- Raw meat
- Fish
- Hot food
For these, you could use a Stasher Bag
(my full review of those is linked at the end of the post) or a container.
The other big tip is that you need to keep it away from the heat so it doesn’t melt. Make sure you don’t leave it in the sun, a hot car, or anything like that.
How to clean the Bee’s Wrap
Use a mild soap and wash the wrap in cold water after use. The wraps need to be away from heat at all times, so you cannot wash it in the dishwasher or hot water.
I used the Castile Soap (full review of that linked at the end of the post) and it worked well for cleaning the Bee’s Wraps.
Hang them out to dry, but not in the direct sun. Once they’re dry, they are ready to use again.
Other food wrap alternatives
Beeswax wraps are a great cling wrap alternative for most foods, but what about the other wasteful food wraps in the kitchen?
For aluminum foil, you could swap to a Recycled Aluminum Foil like this one
, however, it seems very expensive and the reviews are mixed. I don’t use foil very often, so I think I will stick to the regular option until I can find something better.
Baking paper for cooking can be swapped to a silicone baking mat like this one
.
Pros
The obvious reason is that they are a more sustainable option for the planet. Bee’s Wraps are biodegradable and a natural alternative to help you reduce your waste.
Since you can re-use them you won’t need to buy them as often which is also handy and could save money over time.
You can’t go past the aesthetics of them and I love how cute they are. A quick glance on Amazon will show you all the different designs there are with all sorts of cute and colorful patterns.
They are easy to use making it a simple swap.
Cons
As with all of the plastic free-ish changes, it’s certainly not as convenient as using regular plastic wrap. When you can simply throw something away after using it once, nothing reusable can compare as far as convenience is concerned.
The cost could be more expensive than using regular plastic wrap, but I need more time to see how long they last to be sure of that.
It could be hard for families to use as a replacement since what you send your kids to school with doesn’t always come home with them. At the price point they are, it’s not realistic for many families on a budget to be able to replace them each time that happens.
Bee’s Wraps turned out to be a cute and handy cling wrap alternative
Budget progress
The variety pack I bought was under the monthly budget at $42.
Overall for the year, I’m still under budget with $127.85 remaining for the last month.
Overall thoughts
Swapping to a cling wrap alternative is an easy swap to make if you are trying to reduce your waste.
They’re not only eco-friendly, but also very cute, and very easy to use and clean. I love them!
If you use a lot of cling wrap in your household, it could be difficult or expensive to completely swap to Bee’s Wraps. In that case, I would recommend using them along with other options to food wrap, for example, you could supplement them with containers or Stasher Bags.
Other plastic free-ish reviews:
Low Waste And Zero Waste Toiletries – Plastic Free-ish Challenge #9
Low Waste Household Cleaners – Plastic Free-ish Challenge #8
Collapsible Straw Review – Plastic Free-ish Challenge Swap #5
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