Conventional plastic
Melamine resin (MF)
Melamine resin is the hard, glossy plastic of picnic plates and children's tableware, and of most 'bamboo' cups and bowls, where bamboo powder is bound with it. It's safe below 70°C, but releases melamine and formaldehyde when used for hot or acidic food.
By PlasticFreeHome Research Team · Not yet reviewed by an editor · Updated 21 October 2026
- Also called
- melamine-formaldehyde, melamine, bamboo fibre tableware, bamboo composite
- Type
- Conventional plastic
- Found in
- picnic and camping plates, children's plates, bowls and cups, 'bamboo' reusable cups and tableware, kitchen utensils with hard glossy heads, worktop laminates
- Heat
- Below 70°C only. Never microwave it, cook with it or use it for hot, acidic food.
- Recycling in the UK
- Not recyclable. Melamine is a thermoset that can't be melted down; it goes in general waste.
What it is
Melamine resin (melamine-formaldehyde, MF) is a hard plastic made from melamine and formaldehyde. Once set, it can't be melted again, which makes it tough and dishwasher-proof. It has no recycling code. It's the plastic of brightly printed picnic sets and children's plates.
It's also what holds most "bamboo" tableware together. Bamboo powder or fibre is mixed with melamine resin and moulded. Under our definition that makes the product plastic, however natural it looks. See why "bamboo" tableware is usually plastic.
The 70°C rule
Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment found that melamine resin releases melamine and formaldehyde when heated, and that migration limits were clearly exceeded during cooking and microwaving, especially with acidic foods like fruit and tomato sauces. Its advice:
- Don't use melamine crockery or utensils for frying, cooking or heating food in a microwave.
- Below 70°C, it found no health risk. Boiling liquids, cooking and microwaving go well above that.
For bamboo composites the advice is stricter. The UK Food Standards Agency says bamboo-plastic composites can leak formaldehyde and melamine into food or drink, especially when hot or acidic, and shouldn't be used for food or drink at all. Many were also sold illegally, because bamboo isn't an authorised additive in food-contact plastics.
How to use it more safely
- Never put melamine in the microwave.
- Don't use it for hot soup, hot drinks or acidic hot food.
- Retire pieces that have lost their shine or are scratched, a sign the surface is breaking down.
- For children, stainless steel plates and cups are durable, light and plastic-free: kids' tableware → steel.
Disposal
Melamine can't be recycled at home. Put it in general waste.
Related guides
Sources
- BfR (2011) — melamine resin crockery and utensils are not suited to microwaves and cooking; no health risk below 70°C
- BfR — questions and answers on tableware and kitchen utensils made of melamine-formaldehyde resin
- Food Standards Agency (2024) — bamboo-plastic composites can leak formaldehyde and melamine into food and shouldn't be used for food or drink
Swaps involving MF
Plastic and "bamboo" kids' tableware → stainless steel
"Bamboo" kids' tableware is usually melamine plastic. Steel is unbreakable and safe with hot food.
High priority · about 200 g of plastic a year
Takeaway coffee cups → reusable steel cup
Paper cups are lined with plastic and topped with a plastic lid, and they hold drinks at 80°C or more.
High priority · about 500 g of plastic a year