At America’s Test Kitchen, we test recipes dozens of times to ensure what we provide is consistent and accurate. You can be sure we use these recipes at home too. But with 50 test cooks and product reviewers cooking, tasting, and testing all day long, how do we make sure that we waste as little as possible of that food?

If you’re serious about reducing your impact, you’ve probably already swapped out single-use plastic grocery bags for reusable ones–after all, you can’t even recycle single-use plastic grocery bags in normal recycling.

Sometimes, trying to limit your waste isn’t about swapping one product for another. Sometimes it’s as simple as deciding there are products you don’t need at all. When you can make one of these changes, it’s great for the planet and for your wallet.

Mangrove sunglasses that clean up the planet.

Meet PANGEA: a Bali-based company founded by three backpackers who loved seeing the world but hated seeing it covered in trash.

The products they make go well beyond being carbon neutral: they’re carbon negative. Produced from sustainable or recycled materials, each product purchased helps to fund beach cleanups and river barriers in some of the most polluted areas to prevent trash from reaching the ocean. The plastic gathered by the river barriers is then recycled into new products.

At the Roca Berry Farm in Roca, Nebraska, visitors inspect a pumpkin patch. Every year, millions of pumpkins end up in landfills where they contribute to methane pollution, but cooking, composting, or donating them to a farm can help reduce waste.

The extreme heat events seen in Europe over the past couple of weeks have had dire consequences across the continent. Fire departments have been working overtime to put out the excess of fires in cities and countryside alike, the tarmac at London Luton Airport melted, resulting in cancellations of flights and confused patrons, and the insides of subway cars in Central London reached 96 degrees Fahrenheit. This was one of the most extreme heat situations that Europe had seen in years, and unfortunately, it’s becoming a more regular occurrence across the globe.

As consumers, it’s smart to try and be conscious of how much food we buy at grocery stores, if for no other reason than budgeting. However, Forbes outlines in an article titled, “Food Waste Costs U.S. Taxpayers Billions of Dollars a Year,” that those huge chain grocery stores that we shop at every week aren’t so conscious

Over the last week, European nations including Spain, Portugal, France, and Britain have experienced the most extreme heat and drought recorded in their respective regions. The combination of the heat and drought have sparked widespread wildfires, resulting in the loss of lives, the destruction of land, and leaving many wondering when temperatures will start to drop.

Welcome to BioBag’s Community Heroes series! Each month, we will highlight community heroes that are making a difference in their communities and working to make their local environments cleaner and healthier.

This month, we are taking a look at KC Can Compost!

“We’re all trying to prioritize both creating a sustainable venture but prioritizing people at the same time,” said KC Can Compost Executive Director Kristan Chamberlain.

Meet seven founders hoping to pay their bills while changing the world; LaunchKC Social Venture Studio unveils first cohort

International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) is the largest and most comprehensive education initiative of the compost industry.

Roughly 8-10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are associated with uneaten food, the U.N. Environment Programme reports

We have selected quotes that highlight how we feel about Earth Week and Earth Day.

The celebration will run from 10-3 (open hours of the shop!) and KC Can will have an informational booth running from 10-1!

This year's Earth Festival (EF22) is going to be a hybrid event, simultaneously online and in-person at Unity Temple on the Plaza. This will allow those that are ready for in-person contact to meet at Unity and those who prefer to remain at home to attend virtually.

KC Can was fortunate to be selected as one of five organizations honored to work with Rockhurst University's Dr. Dan Martin and his Writing for the Environment class this semester.

As KC Can Compost grows its footprint, the team behind it also is expanding. The nonprofit now employs seven people and aims to add a second truck for pickups this year.

Support green businesses in Kansas City and Overland Park!