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Every year, Americans use enough plastic wrap to cover all of Texas. Switch to recycled, recyclable aluminum foil for safer, eco-friendlier food wrapping.

COCKTAIL FACT

On April Fool's Day, a Dutch news station reported that if you weren't paying the national TV tax, the only way to avoid detection was to wrap your whole TV in aluminum foil.

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home › tip library › Recycled Aluminum Foil

Aluminum foil, plastic wrap or waxed paper?

The Bite

Unlike Destiny's Child, we once loved the trio of aluminum foil, plastic wrap and waxed paper equally. That is, until we weighed the options from health and ecological perspectives. So let's just call recycled aluminum foil the Beyonce of food wrappers.

The Benefits

Unlike waxed paper and plastic wrap, aluminum foil is available in 100% recycled form and is recyclable in most areas (when it's clean).
It withstands heat and cold and works better than plastic and waxed paper at keeping moisture in.
Oil-free. Foil's not made from petroleum, the way that wax and plastic are.

Personally Speaking

Jen has always wrapped her food-to-go in aluminum foil since her mom had a hunch that her school lunches shouldn't be covered in plastics. The only aluminum foil she doesn't recycle are small bits she balls up for Froggy to bat around the kitchen.

Wanna Try?

100% Recycled Aluminum Foil - 50 sq ft of the stuff ($4). Um, just don't microwave it.
Ideal Bite's Tupperware-Free Tip - reasons why we're pro-glass and stainless steel for storing food.
Earth911 - find out whether you can recycle various items in your area.
Keep in mind that aluminum reacts with anything salty or acidic and could end up in those kinds of food - and yes, you can have too much aluminum in your diet.
If you can't avoid plastic wrap (it sure is clingy), avoid ones such as most Reynolds Plastic Wraps, which are made with PVC, the unhealthiest of plastics. Glad Cling Wrap, Handi-Wrap and Saran Wrap are PVC-free.

Oct 03,2006

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All editorial suggestions in this tip are the result of testing and a preference for the tip topic. No advertiser has paid to have its company referenced in the tip. For more information, please read our Editorial Policy.

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Oh the Things We Do for Your Biting Love… (or “I Should Be Talking about Aluminum Foil, but Would Rather Write about My Love Life”)

So here at the Bite, we don’t tip what we don’t try, so we can ensure that you are getting good green advice from us.

But it leaves us in a bit of a quandry sometimes, since, well, Jen and I haven’t done EVERYTHING out there under the sun. Oh sure – we got the city-country, homeowner-apartmentrenter, blah blah thing down. But here’s the deal: you guys want a lot of tips on babies, kids and marriage, and, well… somewhere along the way, Jen and I forgot to do those things. Thus, we have no idea what we are talking about.

So we’ve come up with a plan to fix our deficiencies along those lines. Jen has decided to have a baby so that we know what we are talking about when it comes to kids (stay tuned, since we are thinking we are going to use the right to impregnate Jen as a sweepstakes prize), and I have decided to have a green wedding so that we can speak authoritatively on love issues.

Accordingly, I am on the lookout for the husband character in this little play. Thus far, 2 people have made it onto my short list:

Gavin Newsom. No, I don’t know Gavin. But that has never stopped me before. What’s not to love? He’s tall, relatively good-looking, and puts his career in jeopardy to stand up for what he believes in (being an honest, honorable guy willing to lose everything for telling the truth is… well… Just. Plain. Hot). Besides, he’s out there working to save the earth, so you gotta love that.

Mark Morford. No, I don’t know Mark. But that has never stopped me before. I will fall over and worship Mark if I ever run into him on the street. He is – quite simply – one of the funniest human beings on the planet. I can’t risk reading his column or blog while there is ANY liquid anywhere in the room, or I will snort it out my nose and onto my keyboard, even if I’m not drinking it. Let’s be honest: if you wanna make me fall for you, all you have to do is write well. Really well. I have no idea if he’s tall. I’m disturbed by his rampant love of dogs coupled with an apparent inability to get one. I am also completely put off by the fact that it’s very hard to google a biography of him and find out if he is taken. Or tall. But he could just write me love letters that would make me howl, and that would probably offset any possible shortness. Or girlfriends/boyfriends.

-Heather… off to enjoy my last days in Italy… sigh...

Biter Comments...

I cannot help with baby/marriage stuff either - I've been too busy having fun for that. I live vicariously through my married friends, and believe me, I'm always thankful to go home to my QUIET, clean apartment, to be greeted by my loving, obedient CAT. Anyways, a CONGRATS is in order, I saw you guys on Martha Stewart yesterday - it was a bright spot in my day, considering I was viewing it from a dirty car dealership waiting room where my dead battery was being replaced. GOOD JOB GUYS, hopefully it'll bring lots and lots of new folks to the website...

Posted by: JB (#2) | October 03, 2006 at 06:52 AM

"and yes, you can have too much aluminum in your diet. " Ya, from a health perspective, aluminum is nto a good choice at all- it's heavily linked to alzheimer's. Personally, I don't even like having it touch my food. I'd say definitely don't cook with it though. and remember, I always post corrections on here simply because I'm a guy obsessed with improvement, simply put.

Posted by: Aaron Brown | October 03, 2006 at 07:51 AM

I can help with the baby thing - I have a 2-yr-old and plan to have another baby in 2007 - but the wedding thing is too long ago to be of much help. I wasn't an environmentalist then. I would like to add a shout-out for reusable plastic bowl covers - they look a lot like shower caps but are meant to be washed and reused. I almost never touch my boxes of plastic wraps and I think one of them may be over 7 years old!

Posted by: kaybug | October 03, 2006 at 08:05 AM

My husband and I had a very green wedding. I was working as an event/wedding planner before we got married and was completely disturbed by the waste and expense of most weddings. We decided to elope. We went to Big Bend and got married there on a backpacking trip. We took our 2 cousins, one of which became an ordained minister in order to marry us. They were the one's responsible for introducing us so we thought they should be the ones to join us on our backpacking/wedding/honeymoon trip. The gas to drive to Big Bend was the only non-green part of the wedding. Months later, we invited people to a BBQ, at the lake and in lieu of wedding gifts asked that they bring a side dish. It was a great celebration.

Posted by: Evan | October 03, 2006 at 08:49 AM

I REALLY love wax paper. I love to wrap sandwiches and my homemade cheese in it because it does a much better job than plastic or foil. Does anyone know a company that produces petroleum free wax paper? Sometimes I use eco-friendly parchment paper instead but it doesnt always work as well. Thanks!

Posted by: Lala | October 03, 2006 at 09:20 AM

You're probably not old enough to remember the covers with elastic around them to cover containers...Well, they're baaack! They are reusable for many years if properly washed and do a great job for leftover container storage. I always use aluminum for large stroage over casserole dishes, etc. From an old gal...

Posted by: Nancy - California | October 03, 2006 at 10:41 AM

You want to get corny. Check out this plastic wrap. Found them in my search for exhibitors at our sustainable expo in Vancouver. Check out EPICVancouver.com too. http://www.diamantfilm.com/

Posted by: EPIC Vancouver | October 03, 2006 at 10:56 AM

Heather, why so picky? Jen is willing to give away the right to impregnate her in a sweepstakes, and you've narrowed your options down to two males on the entire planet. And both in San Francisco.

Posted by: Sludgie | October 03, 2006 at 01:16 PM

Dear Heather and Jen, I don't know if you have addressed this already, but I've been questioning myself if I should recycle some products such as dirty yogurt pots and other packaging that comes in contact with food, thus making them dirty. I ask because I have to use water to rinse them before sending for recycling. So here's my conundrum: Should I waste water cleaning recyclable material so it can be reprocessed or should I throw recyclable stuff away in order to save water? Do you have an alternative solution? Thank you and keep up with the good work!

Posted by: Crawling Greenie | October 03, 2006 at 06:32 PM

Only two people? Kepp looking around, I'm sure there are plenty of worthy candidates as well, hehe. I don't know much about green weddings myself, it being an alien concept in my part of the world, but it seems like an interesting thing to attempt. I never knew that there could also be eco-friendly wedding gowns.

Posted by: Lynn | October 03, 2006 at 11:19 PM

There is an issue with aluminum foil that may have been missed. It takes a great deal of electricity to create the foil. Reynolds Aluminum was the #1 consumer of elecricity for many years. I'm not sure if they still are, or if certain internet companies have passed them with their server farms.

Posted by: Stephen | October 04, 2006 at 10:57 AM

Crawling Greenie- You'd be surprised how many people asked about those yogurt cups - we did do a tip specifically devoted to them at http://idealbite.com/tiplibrary/tip.php?tip=20060123&title=The_Secret_Life_of_Yogurt_Cups BUT - it doesn't address the cleaning up part. You might want to check with your local recycling company if you haven't already - some don't require you to wash the stuff out because it uses so much water. For example, my friend's hometown, Monterey, CA, notes on their recycling webpage that cleaning out cans, etc., isn't required: http://www.monterey.org/recycle/news.html Also check out this string online for an answer: http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/34203 As someone suggests, if you typically wash dishes in the sink with the drain plugged, after you're done doing your dishes you could dip your recyclables in the leftover water... Hope this helps.

Posted by: Toshio | October 04, 2006 at 11:08 AM

Crawling Greenie makes a good point-- cleaning out recyclables is also an important way to make sure wildlife isn't attracted to the food residue and trapped inside. (Yogurt containers kill skunks this way-- their little arms are too short to free their heads! And McDonald's redesigned the McFlurry to protect hedgehogs.) See http://www2.ucsc.edu/police/skunks.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedgehog Since city-issued recycling bins are commonly lidless, it can be difficult to keep animals out of the empties. If you can keep things out of reach, great. Otherwise, clean out and/or crush containers to prevent trapping little critters.

Posted by: gabbie | October 05, 2006 at 07:47 AM

What about the plastic bags in the produce section of the grocery store? I use that for refrigerating leftovers and reheating in the microwave instead of foil or plastic wrap. At least I'm putting it to good use and saving money. Is it as bad as other plastics or aluminum foil?

Posted by: Bonnie | October 12, 2006 at 01:48 AM

I am concerned that mining is also involved in aluminum production. What is the full life cycle cost of any of these materials?

Posted by: dana | April 08, 2007 at 05:48 PM

I don't like plastic of any sort and avoid it whenever possible. I also avoid aluminum because my mother died of Alzheimer's; in spite of doctors' assurances that there is absolutely no connection between aluminum and Alzheimer's, I'm not taking any chances. I use glass containers of various sizes for leftovers at home. I have several with plastic lids that seal up tightly which I use for carrying food with me. And I keep one in the car; it's small enough to fit into my purse and large enough to hold my restaurant leftovers when I eat out. No more styrofoam take-home boxes.

Posted by: Pamela S | May 09, 2007 at 11:29 PM

Where can you recycle clean aluminum foil??? I've been recycling since about 1970, in all parts of the country, and have never found a recycling center that would accept aluminum other than aluminum cans.

Posted by: Lindy | September 06, 2007 at 10:54 AM

I love being green, and therefore I hate to say this, but.....I don't like the notion of using aluminum foil in lieu of wax paper or plastic wrap (the PVC-free kind, of course). The idea of cooking and wrapping my food in metal such as aluminum, strikes me as not very healthy or smart -- especially when you consider the aluminum/metal connection to Alzheimers and other brain diseases. So, for me, it's a strictly no foil policy. For others, it's obviously their call.

Posted by: Kim | November 02, 2007 at 04:18 PM

As for the wax paper - I have to believe that using those in lieu of foil for lunches is a better alternative. Granted - using reusable container makes the most sense - but by the time you add a sandwich, drink, fruit and snack you run out of room. The wax bags seem a little more on the sustainable side then foil - the following is from an article I read - The big benefit to using waxed paper bags? The bags are biodegradable. “If you take that bag, crumple it up in your hand and throw it out in your back yard,” Nagy said, “within nine days it will be part of the environment.”

Posted by: Laura | November 20, 2007 at 08:36 AM

"Can you recycle aluminum foil? We haven't perfected a process that will clean, purify and melt household foil efficiently... yet." from Alcoa This makes me wonder if you should add aluminum to the recycle bins?

Posted by: Jan | November 25, 2007 at 03:53 PM

The way it was explained to me is, aluminum foil is not pure aluminum. Either it's an alloy of aluminum and other metals, or it has a coating of some kind, or something. That's why they can't treat it like soda and beer cans. Thanks for the quote from Alcoa, Jan...it tells me that foil is still a no-no, but at least they're working on it.

Posted by: Lindy | November 25, 2007 at 11:25 PM