Sadly true. I’ve been known to warm those meals up just enough to transfer them to a plate or bowl, and then finish their heating. It doesn’t undo the plastic contact that happened when the food was prepared and packaged, nor does it help the with plastic waste problem, but it’s better than nothing. Meanwhile, I look for frozens that come in paper fiber trays instead of plastic.

When I find a packaged food that I like enough to buy again, I’ll sometimes email the company to let them know I would buy more if they replaced their packaging with something less toxic. My voice alone won’t make much difference, but if they hear it from multiple customers, perhaps they’ll put it on their roadmap. (This seems like a marketing opportunity, especially now that microplastics and other forever chemicals are getting attention in the news.)

Also, there’s always the option of cooking/buying a big batch of food and freezing it in single-serving glass/stainless containers. No plastic at all this way, and the food is often better. :)

Where I live sous vide are pretty common in the readymade dinner section - wonder if they’re better for you than microwaving and if we should maybe be doing that instead

Do you ever buy things that come in glass jars, like pasta sauce or jam?

Do you have a thrift shop nearby?

Then don’t - get a small glass/Pyrex casserole dish with a glass lid and decant your leftovers into that every time you go to heat something up. I think IKEA sell some nice sized ones.

If you don’t drop it they last for decades and that’s what I’ve been doing. I do not reccomend looking for vintage stuff though - the reason why they stopped using the original original glass formula is because it chips easily and yeah, something that gets used on a very regular basis with its lid constantly going on and off is going to start chipping something awful over time

Damp paper towel.

This is a good question, already covered in the other comments.

I will add here that exploding food has been much less common since I figured out how to choose a reduced power level on my microwave. (But I still cover the food anyway.)

I’ve always just used a bigger plate/bowl to cover things. They’re much easier to clean than any plastic lid.

Pyrex/borosilicate dishes work pretty well here. Both Pyrex and IKEA do little single serving casserole dishes with a lid that work fantastic. Been using them for decades now

Alternatively you could upend a plate on-top of your bowl

In the microwave, I always use the lid of a bigger glass bowl on top of my large, wide, glass, measuring-pitcher. It doesn’t fit perfectly, but I turn the lid upside down so it doesn’t slide when I carry it.

As per the article:

"But what if my container is ‘microwave-safe’?

Though various plastics are marked as microwave-safe—and plenty of plastic lobbyists have defended them as perfectly safe—the term is somewhat misleading. It’s simply referring to plastic types that won’t crack or melt when heated, not their chemical makeup. Supposedly microwave-safe products can still contain bisphenols, phthalates, and plenty of other potentially harmful ingredients."

Did you read the article?

I reckon the hot dogs, pizza and other junk I’m having often are going to kill me faster than plastic is.

After 30 years of putting plastic in the microwave … I think I’m fine, definitely not worrying about my sperm count ;)

Obviously, it’s good they study this, but apparently the microplastic is already in everything and we don’t really know what it’s doing to humans. Good luck, trying to convince the fossil fuel industry to produce less plastic.

The microwave is what’s doing this, not the fridge.

Nobody said the fridge is doing this, but it doesn’t prevent it, either. It happens through contact. The microwave accelerates it.