This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Zojirushi. The opinions and text are all mine.

Regardless of the type of plastic, more than 70 percent of plastics leak estrogen-like chemicals. Makes that microwavable meal really appetizing, right? Yum!

Whether you’re at home, camping or the office, you can kick plastic from your life in favor of more sustainable products.

Here are a few tiny investments I’ve made over the years to limit my plastic waste.

5 Ways to Kick Plastic in the Office:

1. Stainless Steel Water Bottles. Trading plastic water bottles or single-serve for stainless steel versions by Klean Kanteen and Sigg are a trade up, plus you can get fun colors. I carry mine everywhere from the office to traveling to weekend events, as you can see in Exhibit A, above.
2. Reusable glass containers. Pyrex and brands like Wean Green offer reusable, leak-proof and often break-proof glass containers for your soups, sandwiches & snacks. I mix up my lunches with homemade CSA soups, fruit salads and egg/avocado sandwiches in these containers.
3. Stainless steel snack packs. Ditch ziplock and small plastic bags for stainless steel snack containers. This model by Sustainable Supply is perfect to carry nuts, trail mix and other treasures for that healthy, mid-afternoon snack.
4. Stainless Steel Coffee mugs. Don’t bother getting the daily paper coffee cups with those coffee sleeves. Instead, invest in a stainless steel mug. Plus, models like Zojirushi’s Vacuum Mug keeps beverages hot or cold for hours, so you can enjoy hot coffee hours after you arrive in your cube if you don’t slug it down instantly like me in the morning. Alternately, you could put hot soup or cold smoothies in the vacuum mugs to enjoy later.
5. Bamboo or reusable ‘portable’ silverware set. Rather than stealing plastic silverware from Chipotle or Wawa whenever you run out of the office, invest in an inexpensive, reusable flatware set. Bamboo and silverware versions are small enough so you can carry them in a purse or bookbag and are better quality than plastic snapping mid-bite.

Zojirushi Vaccum Mug Giveaway:

Want to get a head start on curbing your plastic use? We’re giving away a Zojirushi Vacuum Mug to a lucky reader. Just enter the Rafflecopter and our sponsor Zojirushi will randomly select a winner.

a Rafflecopter giveawayWinner will notified between May 23rd and June 6th.

Readers, how do you avoid using plastic in the office? Leave a comment below and tell us your secrets. (**Comments submitted may be displayed on other websites owned by the sponsoring brand.)  

Contest rules

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Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher