How many of you have felt frustrated by the amount of plastic you accumulate when buying groceries? More often than not, your food is packaged in some sort of plastic and it usually isn't recyclable.
This post will provide resources on how you can lower your waste in the kitchen; from changing your shopping habits to reusable, compostable cleaning products. We have done the research for you to offer simple, convenient solutions for lowering waste in your day-to-day life.
Looking around my kitchen, I see A LOT of plastic. I see a plastic bottle of soap, a plastic scrub brush, and a plastic bottle with a cleaning solution, just to name a few. The following products* are simple ways and ideas to get you started on your low-waste kitchen journey!
Here are some initial ideas for easy swaps you can invest in today:
1. Compostable and Recyclable Dishwashing Brush from The Package Free Shop. The brush heads are fully compostable and can be replaced when they are worn down with the Dish Brush Replacement Head.
2. Solid Dish Soap also from The Package Free Shop. Skip the liquid soap in the bottle for this block of saponified coconut oil. Saponification is a process that involves the conversion of fat or oil into soap and alcohol by the action of heat in the presence of aqueous alkali. Keep the block of soap in a cool, dry place when not in use. Pssst! There's a Dish Cleaning Bundle!
3. Reusable bulk bags or reusable produce bags** are great alternatives to using single-use plastic bags when shopping. Shopping in bulk not only cuts down on packaging waste, but can usually save you money too. Try buying things like grains, legumes, or nuts. These bags are typically easy to find with a quick Google search. We suggest finding bags that have the tare weight on them for the cashier to subtract the bag weight from your food. When you get home, you can transfer your food from the bags into jars to keep fresh.
4. Start a compost bin! Humans waste too much food and food waste in the landfill creates methane gas, which is a harmful greenhouse gas. You can compost pretty much anything except meat, fat (including butter and oil), dairy, and bones. Even if you don't have a garden for your soil, I'm sure someone you know would love to take it off your hands if you are accumulating too much!
5. Ditch the disposal paper towels and swap them out for reusable ones! These can be washed and hung outside to dry (to reduce electricity consumption, too!) and reused over and over again!
6. Save your food with Beeswax wrap and reduce the plastic cling wrap! The Plastic Free Mermaid gives a great tutorial on how to make you're own if you're feeling crafty.
We hope you have as much fun as we do as we start to transition to a lower waste lifestyle! Just remember, everything takes time and just take small steps where you can.
*These are products that we have found through research and are not compensated in any way for promoting these products
**In light of Covid-19, we understand that reusable bags are not allowed in some stores at this time.