This month, we're diving into waste reduction. Fun, right? Well, even if it doesn't light a fire in the hearts of foodies and chefs and those mad about their kitchen, it's a topic that impacts every single person on the planet--and not just the people! The waste we create as humans every day destroys animal habitats, contributes to climate change, and negatively impacts our personal health and wellbeing too. Each one of us has a responsibility and imperative to reduce personal household waste.
In the following guide, we look at what is meant by the zero waste movement, how that translates to our kitchens, and steps we can take to prevent or reduce the amount of waste we produce. As you absorb the contents of this guide, you'll notice that much of the waste we create revolves around our food choices and food storage. That means that we can reduce our harmful impact on the environment just by making adaptations to the way we eat and shop for food. It sounds easy, but we know it's not in many cases. We all make decisions based on pleasure and convenience rather than what's best for the health of our bodies and the world we live in. We can have both, but it takes a bit of creativity, sacrifice, investment, and commitment.
Take a few minutes to read this guide. You may be surprised at how many of these recommendations you're already practicing. You may also grab some new ideas for how you can reduce waste in your kitchen. This guide is free for you to share with family and friends too, and a great tactic to get more people on board or closer to the zero waste movement!
What Does Zero Waste Mean?
The definition of zero waste according to the Zero Waste International Alliance (ZWIA) is as follows:
“The conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health."
Zero waste operates within a circular approach to waste prevention. That means different levels of society have specific responsibilities for closing their part of the circle. Producers must improve their manufacturing and design practices. Community members--that's you and me--are responsible for better consumption and disposal efforts. Politicians must manage both levels, community and producers, to promote more effective practices and better overall health.
As consumers, we must also be aware not only of where our waste ends up but also how the products and practices we choose actually create unnecessary waste. We must have a view of the bigger picture, which is why integrating zero waste education into early curriculum is so important for creating real change now and in the future.
How Does Zero Waste Translate To Your Kitchen?
While composting and the four Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle, refuse) are the responsibility and necessity of every individual, we also need to look beyond just the end result of our waste. It requires dropping back and looking at the bigger picture with a keen and conscious eye. It means taking a look at the entire lifecycle of a particular material, be it a carrot or a kitchen sponge, to recognize inefficiencies and unsustainable practices related to production and consumption. Taking a zero waste approach involves learning how to prevent waste, rather than just finding a healthier disposal of it.
Consider your own personal health. Do you engage in daily practices to cultivate good health and prevent disease or just rely on treatment options if illness occurs? The health of our natural environment is no different, and when it comes right down to it, our micro-level, individual actions do make an impact. Refusing the plastic bag at the supermarket means one less piece of plastic ends up in a landfill. Considering the bigger picture, that act of refusal also lowers the demand for plastic in the first place, which then affects production. Imagine if everyone in your neighbourhood made this choice each time they shopped for groceries, let alone the whole world?
Preparation = Prevention
Let's be honest--a zero waste approach is much less an approach than it is a lifestyle adaptation. There's simply more work involved in preventing waste, taking alternative approaches to reducing it, and employing methods to manage waste in healthier ways. But remember this: great things are borne from effort. The easy, convenient way often results in a lot of unnecessary waste. So many of us are enraptured by the shiny promise of a healthier environment, but we're not up for the execution required to achieve such outcomes. Zero waste then, requires us to commit and hold tight to a particular set of values for the kind of world we want to live in.
Zero Waste Lifestyle=Better Personal Health
It's not a coincidence that taking steps to reduce our harmful impact on the environment aligns with the steps required to improve our own personal health.
Less packaged foods means more organic, wholesome foods.
Composting our food scraps means more nutrient-dense and moisture-rich soil, which grows better food and conserves water.
Psychologically, less is actually more. Reducing the number of products we “need" frees up the energy we spend collecting, consuming, and disposing. You know that feeling you have following a good kitchen or garage clean-out? When you've gone through the piles of unused stuff that you've been storing for ages? It's liberating, and keeping a “minimalist" kitchen can induce that same feeling of freedom as we get used to needing less than we've become used to.
Zero Waste Checklist
Following is a checklist and set of suggestions for reducing and preventing waste in your kitchen. You're probably already practicing some of these recommendations, while others may be new for you. Keep in mind that these are a few suggestions meant to inspire a greater commitment to your desire to live, cook, and eat more consciously--it's not an exhaustive list. There are several ways to adapt your kitchen and individual preferences to support a zero waste approach. What do you do already that we haven't included in this guide? We'd love to hear your ideas, so feel free to contact us anytime. Our contact information is mentioned below.
#1: Create a weekly meal plan.
Food gets wasted easily. In the busyness of our daily lives we want convenience. We also want pleasure from our food, and why shouldn't we have it? However, convenience and desire for meal diversity often promotes food wastage. So, should we shop and then plan? Or plan and then shop?
Buying according to the meals you've planned and the number of people you're cooking for is a more systematic approach. You know exactly the type and quantity of ingredients you'll need to buy for each dish.
However, perhaps your supermarket is having a 2-for-1 deal on spinach bunches or tomatoes. With just those two ingredients you can make enough pasta sauce or soup for a few days, or to freeze, and you save money by taking advantage of the deal.
We like the flexible approach. Plan out your meals and head to the supermarket with your list in hand, but don't be a stickler for it. Take advantage of those deals and adjust your meal plan accordingly. The point is not to exercise rigidity in your diet or your commitment to your weekly food plan, but to prevent waste.
#2: Eat more nutrient-dense foods like microgreens & local superfoods.
Nutrient-dense foods are ones that pack a lot of vitamins and minerals into small portions. Microgreens can be grown easily at home and harvested several times. While they don't constitute a full meal, they are an excellent addition to salads, sandwiches, soups, pastas, casseroles, and more, and they're super dense in key nutrients. They also don't require plastic or large quantities of water to grow.
Locally grown superfoods are also high in key nutrients and better for the environment than imported produce. Blueberries contain loads of antioxidants. Flax seeds and hemp hearts are rich in omega fatty acids. When you choose nutrient-dense foods that are locally grown, you help to minimize transportation costs and the accompanying environmental impact. You also support local farmers. Such food choices acknowledge the bigger picture of a zero waste approach.
#3: Switch to a plant-based (or mostly plant-based) diet.
A diet high in animal products creates a huge impact on the environment, in many ways. To get a good, though frightening, sense of just how big that impact is, consider watching the films The Game Changers (2018), or Leonardo DiCaprio's Before the Flood (2016). Both films reveal the devastating impact of the animal food industry on the planet.
If you've been a meat-eater your whole life, or your body has specific nutritional health requirements, then going completely plant-based may not be a viable option for you. The point is not to go whole-hog into a new lifestyle or to be completely unyielding to pleasure and convenience. Instead, consider eliminating meat or animal products from your diet just one or two days a week. There are plenty of plant-based products that mimic meat, dairy, and eggs, so it doesn't have to feel like too big a change.
However, we must exercise conscious decision making when it comes to plant-based foods too, as some alternatives also have a negative impact on the environment. When in doubt, choose local.
#4: Freeze close-to-expired fruits & veggies.
Seems obvious, right? But those scuffed and bruised fruits and veggies don't really inspire our cooking passion, and they're liable to get tossed while they still have nutritional value. Brown bananas freeze well and make excellent banana bread or muffins, smoothies, smoothie bowls, and frozen puddings for the kids. Stash lettuce, kale, and other leafy greens into a freezer-friendly container and chuck into soups, stews, green smoothies, and pasta sauces. Just make sure to prepare the produce according to your convenience for later use, and date the container so you're always using the oldest first.
#5: Compost your organic waste.
It's an easy task and fun science lesson for the kids! All that's required is a container large enough to collect your daily organic scraps and a patch of soil in your garden as large or as small as you wish your compost pile to be. Dig a few inches down and place twigs or straw. Then add manure, green manure (such as clover, buckwheat, wheatgrass, grass clippings) or another nitrogen source. Cover the pile and turn it occasionally to aerate it and to add new materials. The most important part is keeping it moist and to layer moist and dry compost materials.
#6: Use reusable plates and cutlery.
Summer is just around the corner and if you're hosting a neighborhood barbeque, you may be tempted to call on the plastic plates and cutlery to save yourself a big load of dishes. However, this is a convenience-based decision that results in a lot of unnecessary waste. If you want to keep things easy, ask your neighbors to bring their own plates and cutlery, or opt for single-use plates and cutlery that are made with natural, biodegradable materials.
Alternatively, have a system in place for dealing with that load of dirty dishes at the end of the day. Get the family to help in a production line style, where one person stacks the dirty dishes, another person rinses them, and another arranges them in the dishwasher. When everyone makes a little bit of effort, much can be accomplished, and a lot of waste can be spared.
#7: Ditch the plastic wrap.
According to National Geographic, Americans buy enough plastic film every year to shrink-wrap Texas. Cling wrap contains toxic chemicals that are harmful to human health, and it contributes to a plastic pollution crisis in marine environments. It also may release dioxin, a highly toxic chemical, when it winds up in landfills.
Why use cling wrap? This stuff, invented in 1949 by Dow Chemical, is barely even convenient! Not only does it lead to frustration when you can find the end of the roll or it sticks to itself, it's also completely unnecessary with all the food storage options available now. We have beeswax wraps, BPA-free plastic containers, reusable glass jars, and silicone zip bags.
#8: Make your own natural kitchen cleaners.
Grab four basic ingredients and you can make several different household cleaners that are natural and won't harm the environment (or stink like chemicals!). Baking soda, vinegar, lemon, and essential oils absorb odors, dissolve dirt, and grease, and add a squeaky-clean shine to your floors, countertops, and appliances. Our favorite is the Everything Cleaner, which requires ½ cup of white vinegar, 2 tbsp of baking soda, and tea tree, lavender, or lemon essential oil. Mix the vinegar with a bit of water into a glass spray bottle and add 10 drops of your chosen essential oil. Then add the baking soda and top up the bottle with water. Shake it gently, spritz those grotty surfaces, and wipe with a cloth.
#9: Buy in bulk & bring your own container.
Buying in bulk has a few advantages. You save money by only buying what you need, and you also reduce the packaging required to store those foods. Hitting up your local bulk foods shop probably isn't a new practice for you. However, most of those stores offer plastic bags for food storage for the convenience of customers. While you're only buying what you need, those plastic bags don't exactly support zero waste, do they? Produce bags in supermarkets impose the same problem. Save up your glass jars and use them for those bulk foods. If you need something larger, simply bring a few reusable food storage containers along with you.
#10: Buy second-hand or refurbished appliances.
According to the United Nations, electronic waste accounts for 41.8 million tons of waste that ends up in landfills each year and 2.2 million tons of harmful lead compounds (source). Most of that waste is created by kitchen appliances because they're not recycled responsibly. In particular, the coolants that maintain optimal temperatures in fridges and freezers create greenhouse gases that require specific and safe disposal methods.
Wherever you can, opt to buy kitchen appliances that are second hand, refurbished, or are made according to responsible manufacturing practices.
#11: Toss the coffee pods.
A French press makes better coffee anyhow! Well, that depends on who you ask of course--good coffee is relative! Those plastic coffee pods that are used for one-cupper coffee makers, such as the Keurig, create an extreme amount of waste that is so easily reduced just by making a different choice. An Italian moka pot is a stove-top coffee brewer that prepares a piping hot, Italian-style coffee in minutes. A French press or Bodem-brand coffee brewer is easy to use and clean and available in different sizes. If you have a drip coffee maker, consider reusable filters or biodegradable ones that minimize impact on the natural environment.
Go Green, One Step At A Time
Making small changes can lead to big changes. If diving into the zero waste movement is too dramatic a lifestyle change for you, then start by dipping your toes in. Choose one of the recommendations from the list, starting with one that doesn't cause too much disruption to your life. Keep in mind though, that you will have to sacrifice convenience from time to time to uphold your commitment to a healthier environment. Those adaptations will integrate quickly, and before you know it, you won't even remember your old methods.
We hope you enjoyed this free guide from Priority Chef. If you have questions, comments, or other feedback, please feel free to contact us, or sign up for our monthly newsletter.
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