Sustainable Cutting Boards: Avoid Plastics At All Costs

The Plastic Cutting Board

When we started our family, we focused on the safety concerns that most parents are told to focus on; sharp corners, hot stove burners, gates for the stairs, cabinet door locks, etc. But we were only focused on the physical environment around us. We weren't paying attention to the tools we were using to prepare food, or store it in. It wasn't until the pandemic hit that we really started looking at our home environment and how that might be affecting our overall health and wellness. And one of the items we used most often was a plastic cutting board.

When you really think about cuttings boards, how you use them, and then throw micro plastics in the mix... they just don;t make sense form a health and sustainability perspective. Take a minute to really digest what you do with your cutting board. It's  in the name; you "cut". Not only the food items you're preparing, but the cutting board itself. Every time we cut into plastic cutting boards, we create in the plastic grooves that allow bacteria to hide and grow and release micro plastics that end up in our food.

It's estimated that we eat 5 grams of plastic each week. Micro plastics have been shown to release endocrine disruptors and other potentially harmful chemicals.

Sustainable Cutting Board Options

Before plastics, cutting boards were made primarily of wood. Studies have shown that wood cutting are generally tougher than plastic (harder to made deep grooves in the surface) and have anti-microbial properties. But not all wood cutting boards are created equal. You want to look for solid, hardwood cutting boards made from maple, walnut, beech and teak. Single piece bamboo cutting boards are also a great option. But make sure it's one piece as you don't want any of the glues or solvents used to join the pieces together. Hardwoods have fine grains, which pulls down bacteria and kills it off as the wood dries.

Soft wood boards like pine or cypress are less likely to dull your knife, but also pose a higher risk for food safety.

Here are some of the cutting boards we recommend: