Home cook shares game-changing tip to reuse old food container lids: 'Genius'

If you have plastic containers left over from food, keep them around. As one Redditor's photo showed, you can use the lids instead of plastic wrap.

The scoop

No tools or extra steps are involved in this hack. If you have a plastic lid lying around, use it to cover food instead of buying plastic wrap.

This is especially handy if you have leftover food in bowls, as the lid can sit comfortably on top. Even if it doesn't seal, it will at least keep the flies and other small insects at bay.

How it's helping

Learning how to reuse plastic items can save you time and money. You may have lids from take-out food, Greek yogurt, store-bought food packaging, or even drink bottles that you can upcycle. 

A plastic lid can convert into a plant or drink coaster to protect furniture from stains and wet marks. 

Do you eat parmesan cheese? Keep those colorful lids that fit perfectly over mason jars for easy food shaking or convenient drink covers with holes for straws. 

Forget those expensive wine bottle toppers — save your plastic water bottle caps to cover wine bottles instead.

Reusing plastic adds to a sustainable life that reduces your carbon trail. From microplastics in waterways to large items left on hiking trails to those placed in landfills, plastic is everywhere, and it's a big problem for oceans, animals, people, and the air. 

The material can take up to 500 years to break down, per the World Wildlife Fund, but not before giving off polluting gases that trap heat inside the atmosphere and cause the planet's temperature to rise. 

It can also hurt many unsuspecting animals. In 2020, Oceana reported that 1,800 marine animals had choked on or gotten entangled in plastic in United States waters.

How much effort are you willing to make to reduce the amount of plastic and toxins in your home? I'll do whatever it takes 👍 Only if it's an easy swap 😅 Only if it's cheaper 💰 Not interested 🚫 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Knowing your recycling options can help. However, thin plastic wrap is too difficult to recycle, so it isn't often accepted for processing and usually ends up in landfills anyway. 

There are also health concerns in using plastic wrap too. A study published in the Journal of Food Protection, shared by ScienceDirect, concluded that Di-(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA) was detected in foods packaged in DEHA-plasticized cling films. The study detailed that DEHA can migrate from plastic to high-fat foods like cheese and certain meats. 

While the National Center for Health Research mentioned that DEHA triggered liver tumors and brain and heart injuries in rodents, research is ongoing on the direct effect on humans. 

However, microplastic exposure in humans is a suspected link to colon cancer, respiratory issues, and reproductive health, per the Natural Resources Defense Council. Therefore, it's worth watching what type of plastic you buy so you can avoid chemical seepage if the product (like single-use wrap) clings tightly to food.

And while a reused plastic lid may not directly come into contact with your food, make you avoid microwaving it, as that could also increase microplastic shedding.

What everyone's saying

The idea went over well in the comments as one person exclaimed, "Genius, this will be my new hobby." 

"Unless something needs to be airtight, this is a great solution that eliminates single-use plastic wrap and saves money," noted another.

A third suggested, "Use old jars for leftovers…any glass jar is reusable if it isn't broken!"

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.