Also if you want to avoid plastic, get rid of the Teflon non-stick pans. Once you use stainless steel wool to clean, there isn't much of a downside to using stainless steel pots and pans anyways.

There's cooking tricks to get the stuck on stuff off while you're cooking, too, though I forget what it's called.

Edit: a comment further down had it: deglaze.

I have one but I do find it a bit difficult. Maybe the fine chain ones would work better for me.

I have some bamboo pot scrapers that I prefer over scouring. Sometimes I use baking soda with a damp rag as an abrasive when the scraper isn't working.