Five Kitchen Swaps, in Plain Words

Swap 1

Plastic tea bags → loose leaf

• 11.6 bnplastic particles from one bagplus about 3.1 billion even smaller nanoparticles, steeped at 95 °C

Researchers at McGill University steeped empty plastic “silk” tea bags in water at brewing temperature and counted what came off. That works out to about 16 micrograms of plastic per cup. Paper tea bags were not part of this test, and the effect on people is not known. A metal strainer released no particles.

The swap: loose-leaf tea in a stainless steel strainer or a teapot.

Swap 2

Heating in plastic → glass

• 4 millionmicroplastics per cm², in 3 minutesand over 2 billion nanoplastics, in a 1,000 W microwave

A University of Nebraska team microwaved plastic baby-food containers (polypropylene) and a polyethylene pouch with water or a mild acid. The figure above is the top of the range, not the average. Their cell test was done on kidney cells in a dish, not in people.

The swap: heat food in glass or ceramic. Keep plastic tubs for cold storage.

Swap 3

Plastic chopping board → wood

• 79 millionparticles a year, polypropylene boards14 to 17 million a year for polyethylene boards (estimate)

Researchers had five people chop carrots on plastic boards and worked out how much plastic a year of chopping could release. It is an estimate, and it changes with chopping style and how worn the board is. In the same study, the particles did not harm mouse cells over 72 hours.

The swap: a solid hardwood board. Wood sheds fibres too, but they are wood, not plastic.

Swap 4

Nylon spatula → steel or wood

• 10 of 33nylon utensils released plastic compoundsabove 5 mg per kg of food, tested at 100 °C

Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) tested polyamide (nylon) kitchen utensils with hot food. Its advice: keep contact with food hotter than 70 °C as short as possible.

The swap: stainless steel or solid wood for hot pans. Use wood on non-stick so you don’t scratch the coating.

Swap 5

Non-stick pan → steel or cast iron

• 4 of 6pan coatings were 23–38% fluorineand not one pan said PFAS on the box or the pan

The consumer centre in Hamburg sent six well-known non-stick pans to a lab in 2025. Four coatings contained high amounts of organic fluorine, the building block of PFAS. Two could not be analysed. A label that says “PFOA-free” only covers one chemical, not the whole PFAS family. The test measured the coating, not what ends up in food. The pans were chosen for their marketing claims, so this is not a survey of every pan on sale.

The swap: stainless steel, cast iron or carbon steel, which have no coating at all. With the pan you have: never heat it empty, and replace it once the coating is scratched.

Read it carefully

What this does not mean

Lab tests, not health studies. Each study counted particles or chemicals in a lab. None of them measured harm in people. Most of our everyday exposure comes from food and water, not one pan or one tea bag.

Our approach: small, sensible swaps when things wear out. No panic, no throwing away a working kitchen.