Single-use plastics are made for convenience, but there is no doubt that plastics are toxic to the environment and human body.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says South Africans use between 30kg and 50kg of plastic per person each year.

This is much lower than the 136kg and 139kg per person per year in the US and Europe. But most plastics end up in the Marine environment.

Want to know about food-grade silicone, or what's the difference between it and other silicones? Take a look at this:

Benefits of food-grade silicone:

• 1. High resistance to damage and degradation at extreme temperatures

• 2. Does not harden, crack, flake, crumble, dry, rot or become brittle over time

• 3, light, space saving, easy to transport

• 4. Made from abundant natural resources

• 5, non-toxic and tasteless - BPA, latex, lead, phthalates free

• 6. May be 100% recycled in some locations; Non-hazardous waste

Plastic that doesn't end up in landfills often ends up in the ocean and into the food chain, which is a major human health concern. The harsh chemicals and toxins contained in plastics have been linked to cancer, infertility, immune disorders and more.

Fortunately, you now have a healthier option: food-grade silicone is a more flexible, sustainable and safe alternative to plastics, and therefore safe for both people and the planet.

What is food grade silicone?

Food grade silicone is a non-toxic silicone that does not contain any chemical fillers or by-products and is safe for use in food. Silicon, the natural chemical element that makes up silicon, is a quasi-metal, meaning it has both metallic and nonmetallic properties, and is the second most abundant element in the earth's crust after oxygen.

Silicone molecules, made up of silicon, oxygen and quartz, are a durable, hard, non-bending "rock" that is the most common component of sand. Food grade silicone is essentially soft glass due to its elastic, non-porous surface and sustainability. Although glass bottles and other glass containers are excellent for plastic-free storage, they can break, take up a lot of space, and are not easy to carry around.