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Whether you’re on a journey towards zero waste, or simply looking for ways to be more eco-friendly in your everyday life, reducing kitchen waste is one of the best things you can do. Food waste is a massive environmental problem in our society that often seems to be neglected.
According to the USDA, 30% to 40% of our food supply is wasted. This isn’t just a problem because of the moral implications, it’s also incredibly environmentally destructive. Most of this food is sent to landfill, where it cannot decompose properly. Instead, it’s emitting methane as it lacks access to oxygen.
Aside from food waste, our kitchens are also often a source of other, often unrecyclable, waste: kitchen towels, food packaging, cleaning products, kitchen sponges…
If you’re looking to reduce your waste production, limit your carbon footprint and solve the moral problems associated with food waste on your part, then it’s time to start taking some mindful steps towards reducing your kitchen waste.
Conventional cleaning produces a lot of waste (and don’t forget about the harsh chemicals most conventional cleaners contain). Cleaners come in plastic bottles, paper towels pile up in landfills, plastic kitchen sponges add to the pollution of our oceans and cleaning wipes are terrible for your health and the planet.
Thankfully, there are some much more eco-friendly options which will help you reduce your kitchen waste. Swap paper towels or cleaning wipes for reusable cloths you can throw in the laundry, choose a long-lasting kitchen sponge from natural materials and instead of harsh chemical cleaners, bet on baking soda and vinegar.
If you look at your kitchen waste, packaging is likely to make up a significant portion of it. That’s why buying your produce package-free, choosing paper, glass or metal packaging over plastic or giving zero waste grocery stores a try (if there’s one in your area) is a great way to reduce your kitchen waste.
Do you write a shopping list before going to the grocery store? You should be if you want to reduce your kitchen waste. By planning your meals in advance and only buying what you need for those meals, you’re making sure that none of your groceries go to waste.
Planning your meals can also be a great way to live a healthier lifestyle and save some money, as you won’t be as tempted to impulse-buy.
It’s best to cook just the right amount of food you need – however, that’s not always possible, especially if you’re trying a new recipe. Make sure to store these leftovers in the front of the fridge and eat them as soon as possible. Alternatively, freeze them if you know you won’t get around to eating them in the next few days.
Experimenting with growing your own food may sound intimidating – but we’re not suggesting that you only eat what you grow in your garden.
Even starting out with something as simple as growing a few herbs on your windowsill can guarantee you a fresh supply of some ingredients, without any packaging or kitchen waste! Once you learn a little more about it, you may then want to start growing other foods too.
Fruit and vegetable scraps can add up if you cook with a lot of produce. One great way to reduce their quantity is to find ways to utilize them. Firstly, some scraps can be eaten just fine – not peeling your produce is a good place to start.
What do you do with what’s left? Veggie scraps can be used to make stock and herbivore pets like guinea pigs will be grateful for scraps like carrot peels. You could even use some of the scraps as natural dyes!
If you have any ingredients or leftovers and aren’t sure if you’ll get around to eating them before they go bad, toss them in the freezer. That way, you can preserve them for much longer until you can make use of them.
The freezer is a great way to preserve food – make the best of it!
Speaking of preserving food, if you’re not sure when you’ll be using any particular ingredients, it’s best to opt for foods with long shelf life such as beans, rice, pasta or nuts. These can often be bought completely package-free at bulk stores, so you’ll save yourself a lot of plastic as well.
Although longer shelf life is a good thing, avoid foods which achieve this by adding preservatives and other additives – besides being unhealthy, they often also come packaged in a lot of plastic.
If you’re preparing food for the go or will be buying takeout, opt for reusable containers, utensils and straws. Most takeout places usually won’t have a problem putting the food in your own container, although some may now be more restricted because of coronavirus precautions. However, what you can always do is use your own bamboo or metal cutlery, instead of single-use.
Some food waste we just can’t get rid of – and that’s where composting comes in. It gives your scraps the optimum conditions they need to decompose quickly and fully, rather than producing methane in a landfill. The product of composting is rich fertilizer for your plants.
Long gone are the days when you needed to have a large garden to compost – there are now many different options, some of which are flat-friendly!
Our article 10 Things You Can Easily Compost At Home is a great starting point!
Keep these tips in mind while working to reduce your food waste. Remember that it’s important to make everyday mindful choices, rather than trying to master everything at once – as you master one habit, you can move on to the next.
Before you know it, your kitchen waste will only be a fraction of what it was!
Like this post? Here are some others you might enjoy:
A Wasteful Wardrobe – How Is Fast Fashion Contributing To The World’s Plastic Pollution
The 5 R’s Of Zero Waste And How They Can Help You Build A More Sustainable Lifestyle
The Devastating Environmental Impact Of Food Waste – And What You Can Do About It
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