Living the Low Waste Lifestyle: Go Low KC!
By: Charles Doering-Powell, Pembroke Hill School, Sr. and Blog Editor
Cooking is an essential skill to our every day lives, but something we don’t often realize is how much waste we produce in the process. This is why hundreds of thousands of people across the globe have adopted a low/zero-waste way of life that targets the waste that we produce when we buy and use foods. The zero-waste principle is to eliminate as much food waste from our kitchens as possible, meaning plastics and non-recyclable materials that foods and kitchen necessities come packaged in and also using all of the food that you purchase at the store in an effort to become more sustainable and work toward a greener future for the generations to come. Here are some ways that you can implement this low waste ideology into your routine:
Bring reusable bags to the grocery store with you.
While going to the grocery store is discouraged due to the COVID-19 outbreak, if/when you go, bring reusable tote bags with you and have the checkout clerk bag your foods inside of them to help cut down on the amount of one-time use plastic and paper bags distributed. If you happen to forget a reusable tote, use the plastic or paper bags that you’re given again at home to keep other things in so you aren’t just tossing them out after one use.
2. Avoid foods that are wrapped in plastic.
I often see cucumbers, bunches of celery, and bags of carrots wrapped in plastic for no real reason, so try and grab fruits and vegetables that aren’t packaged in plastic. Also, try not to use any other plastic bags that the grocery store provides for produce - it’s unnecessary and just produces more plastic waste.
3. Buy in bulk.
This is tricky sometimes because you can’t necessarily buy produce in bulk unless you plan to eat it quickly, but for things like grains, nuts, and baking goods like flour and sugar, buying in the bulk sections can eliminate incredible amounts of excess waste. To do this, you bring your own container, many use mason jars, and find the bulk section in stores like Whole Foods. You pay for the goods per pound or ounce, which usually ends up being cheaper than buying pre-packaged goods off of the shelf.
4. Save the parts of foods that you don’t often eat - use it all!
More often than not, the parts of foods that you would usually throw away can be used in other ways, in turn, yielding less waste. For example, the bones and scraps of meat can be used as broth if you boil it in a pan with water, the stems from greens can be juiced or cooked to soften them up, and peels from lemons, limes, or oranges can be zested to provide an extra kick to every meal.
5. Make a list.
It seems rudimentary, but going into the grocery store with a list of items and how much you plan on buying of each can save tons of food waste. If you get to the grocery store without a list, you tend to buy things that may seem good, but when you get home, you don’t ever eat it and just end up throwing it away. By creating a list, you set out guidelines to follow so you don’t end up having to trash anything that you buy off impulse.
