buying whatever sounds good in the moment?
Think about how you store food items. Are you storing foods in a manner that preserves them longer? Do you utilize your freezer? Are you using reusable containers, or do you consistently buy, use, and throw away single-use items?
Think about your cooking habits. Do you find cooking to be a chore? Do you try to save yourself some time and hassle by prepping batches of certain foods in advance?
Think about how you determine whether a food item is still fresh or good to use. Do you decide whether to keep or pitch something solely by the date on the box, bag, or can? Are you open to eating or cooking with produce that’s no longer picture perfect?
Think about what you put in your trash can. Does it fill up quickly with food packaging? Do you thrown away all food scraps, or do you compost?
Creating and implementing a plan for how you buy, use, and store food will help reduce what goes into your garbage can and, ultimately, the landfill.
Keeping the Environment and Your Wallet in Mind
A lot of things may come to mind when you think about the environmental impact of your grocery shopping habits. You may think about how foods are packaged, whether they’re grown organically or conventionally, and whether they’re local or international. However, throwing away less of the food you buy likely has a greater impact. In addition, shopping only for what you need and wasting less food, saves you money.
Adopting more of a zero waste lifestyle requires you to ask yourself a few questions. For example, how are you going to use the food you buy? Are some of the foods on your list multipurpose items that you can use in multiple ways (such as fresh produce, rice, or canned beans; see Chapter 6)?
When shopping: Will I use this?
To reduce overall kitchen waste, you need to think differently when you shop for groceries. However, the simplest way to zero waste cooking is asking yourself this question when shopping: Will I use this?
Consider what you typically do with food each week. What do you often throw away? What did you buy that you didn’t need?
When you put food into your grocery cart, you should know exactly what you plan to do with it. By making a mental note as you shop, you’ll be sure to use what you buy. Why do I need this? How and when will I use it? If the answer to the last question is “I don’t know” or “Probably not this week,” then you may rethink the purchase, unless you intend to freeze it.
Become aware of what you’ve routinely pitched in the past. For instance, if you’re always throwing away luncheon meat, maybe you need to buy just half a pound instead of a pound. In general, fresh fruits and vegetables get wasted most, followed by dairy products, breads, and meat.
Also, think about how you grocery shop. Do you go to the store weekly, biweekly, or monthly? Maybe you buy things in bulk and find you never get around to using it all. If so, consider freezing some of it in serving sizes that fit your family. If you buy two loaves of bread or two packs of English muffins, you can pop one in the freezer for the following week. Or maybe you need to reconsider your membership to that warehouse store, or shop with a friend and share the goods.
Check out Chapter 6 to dig deeper into your shopping habits and find some tips for planning and executing zero waste strategies for grocery shopping.
RETHINKING SINGLE-USE ITEMS
We are a society of convenience. We’re often on the go, which makes single-use items very tempting. Putting sandwiches into plastic bags, packing water bottles for a soccer match, running into the grocery store and coming out with eight more plastic bags to add to your pile. I get it. Using single-use plastic items like these may seem easier, but there’s a better way.
Tip: Although sometimes it makes sense to use a plastic sandwich bag, set some goals to use fewer single-use items. You may not be able to completely eliminate them, but it’s a start. Whether you reduce them by 20 percent or 70 percent, all reducing has a positive impact. Here are some ideas:
Instead of regularly using plastic forks and paper plates, consider melamine plates that you can wash, and purchase extra flatware from a secondhand store or reusable cutlery that’s made from recyclable materials. Keep a set in your bag and forgo the plastic cutlery when you do takeout lunch with friends. While you’re at it, consider replacing paper napkins with a set of cloth napkins that can be reused.
Forgo the plastic straw and just sip your beverage from the glass. Or try stainless or silicone straws. Keep a set in your bag or car to use on the go.
Rethink your coffee habits. Coffee on the go comes with a lot of single-use waste — the cup, the lid, the stirrer, the napkin, the cuff. Bring your own reusable cup when you can, or brew your cup at home.Note: Although brewing single-use coffee pods at home may be less wasteful than visiting a coffee house for coffee every day, they add waste, too. If your brand has a recycling program, use it. Or simply don’t use the pods, or use them less often.
Buy soda or other beverages in one large 2-liter or gallon and pour into reusable cups. Use refillable water bottles to take ice cold water with you. If you must buy some of those single-use plastic items, do so mindfully (for instance, you may want water bottles to prepare for a natural disaster when water supplies could be limited or unsafe). Otherwise, use your reusables.
Keep reusable tote bags with you and make a sincere effort to get into the habit of using them when you go grocery shopping. Include an insulated bag so you can put food into if you’re delayed. Look for reusable drawstring vegetable/produce bags (they also help keep produce fresh longer) instead of the plastic bags in the grocery store’s produce section.
When storing: What’s the best way to preserve my food?
Do you sometimes ponder how in the world your kitchen garbage gets so full so quickly? When you’re on a zero waste journey, you’ll want to rethink what you send into that kitchen can. Proper food storage is a key aspect of a zero waste kitchen. Find out more about how to store fresh produce, what you can freeze, and how to keep a pantry organized for zero waste in Chapters
