With the rise of ocean pollution and health concerns caused by society’s heavy usage of plastic, silicone has emerged as an alternative, claiming to be safer and more eco friendly. If you’ve shopped with Simple Ecology, chances are you’ve seen some of our silicone products for your kitchen, but you may not know if it’s actually better than plastic. This blog post will help give you an introduction to what the material is and how it impacts our bodies and the planet.

What is Silicone?

Silicone is made from the second most abundant element on earth, silicon, but is often found in nature combined with oxygen, which is coined as silica. It is extracted from the mineral quartz, and heated to a high temperature to extract liquid silica for production applications. Unlike plastic, silicone is known to resist high and low temperatures, repel water, and much more. It shares quite a few properties of plastic, but does not create microplastic particles or leach harmful chemicals.

Is Silicone Safe to Use?

It is important to note that similar to plastics, not all grades of silicone are created the same. All Simple Ecology products are made with Platinum Cured Food-Grade Silicone made by Silikomart in Italy, the highest quality of silicone you can get! Cheaper silicone products have unnecessary fillers that are often found in plastics, which greatly lower the production costs, as well as the durability and quality of the material. Our premium quality silicone products do not contain any of these cheap filler materials, making them chemically stable and extremely durable. To determine whether or not silicone products are of highest quality, pull or twist the silicone and see if it turns white - if so, that is an indication that it has additional fillers.

Simple Ecology’s silicone products are made specifically of liquid silicone rubber: the material can withstand temperatures from -76°F to 446°F (-60°C to 230°C), and it can be exposed to wind, rain, and UV light for extended periods of time, or immersed in water, oil or solvents - [the material] can stand up to even the most demanding applications (Simtec). While plastic is known to leach chemicals into foods, platinum silicone is food safe, odorless, and versatile for a variety of cooking applications.

What Makes it Eco-Friendly?

Premium Quality silicone does not have any additives from the petrochemical industry, and comes from more abundant resources from the earth unlike plastic. It also won’t shed microplastic particles, and does not degrade over time. As long as it is the highest grade of silicone, without plastic or chemical fillers, it can be recycled, so be sure to take care of your silicone products and send them to the correct end of life solution once the time comes.

Many silicone products today are also made to replace single use plastics, and offer similar performance properties to plastic products—the lightweight and flexible nature of silicone makes it quite popular for on the go solutions. With that in mind, silicone is a great alternative for those looking to make a switch from the plastic products they are used to.

Silikomart produces all our silicone products in a manufacturing center that uses 100% renewable energy. So be assured that we’re looking for the highest quality options with the smallest carbon footprint in light of climate change.

Is Silicone Recyclable?

As mentioned previously, the grade and quality of silicone is important when determining whether or not it can be recycled. Due to the quality and contamination issues, most municipal recycles usually don’t accept silicone items, but we’ve teamed up with a silicone recycler in the United States who will accept our premium quality platinum silicone products.

If any of your Simple Ecology silicone products break over the next few years (our’s haven’t yet!), you can send them back to us, and we will send them off to the recycler so they can be made into new, high quality silicone products again! 

Are you already using our silicone products in your kitchen, or perhaps you’re convinced to try the material if you haven’t already? We love the Chocolate Nut Butter Cups with our Silicone Cupcake Liners for a sweet treat, if you’re looking for a fun snack to make for friends! Be sure to check out our recipes page for more zero waste, eco-friendly food options that can even show you how to use these products.