Reduce Your Waste Around Food

Happy Earth Month! This month I am going to be focusing on how to reduce your waste around food - the containers, the packaging, and the food itself. I did a part one of this reducing your plastic waste - so be sure to check that out if you haven't already!

A great place to start in your home if you've never thought about the type of waste your food creates is the trash can. My home of 4 people uses half a trash bag a week, if that. To start, just look in your trash - what is in there? Are there things you can swap out for another option that doesn't create waste? Also look to your recycle bin. Most of what we attempt to recycle, especially plastic, doesn't actually get recycled. The primary goal is to reduce!

Then, based on your capacity for change, pick 1 or a few things you can stop using. Consider where can you swap in materials that you can use over and over again rather than throwing things away. Or, if a large part of your trash is food, how can you streamline what you buy at the store so you only buy what you actually eat?

1. To-go food containers and cups - I have a rule now that if I didn't bring a tea mug from home I'm not getting the tea. I also don't go to establishments that refuse to put the drink in my cup. When you're going out, especially if you're planning on heading to a coffee shop, but even for those "just in case" times, always bring a travel coffee mug with you. And when you're going out to eat at a restaurant, pack a container from home for your leftovers.

2. Meat packaging - This is definitely a trickier one as it is very difficult to buy meat or seafood that doesn't come with some plastic, but there are places you can reduce how much you're getting. Are there any meat/fish you buy that you can get from the seafood or meat counter rather than pre-packaged in the fridge? Generally at the counter your food is wrapped in butcher paper and so significantly cuts down on your plastic packaging. Buying in bulk is also helpful, and avoid anything sitting on a styrafoam try.

3. Food - Did you know food doesn't break down in landfills? Instead, it produces methane. Food waste accounts for more than 14% of total methane production in the US. When you shop, buy only what you need for the week (or however often you shop). If there is still food left in the fridge the next time you go shopping, write that into your meal plan so you can use it up before it goes bad. Plan for having leftovers a few times a week to help reduce overbuying.

4. If you live somewhere that you can create your own compost pile, that is a great way of keeping food out of the landfill producing methane. If you're in the city or just not that into composting, check to see if there is someone who may collect food for compost, like Key City Compost in Frederick, MD. Key City will pick up your food scraps every week and once or twice a year you get back some great compost!

5. Eat at home more, order out less - We almost never order food to be delivered to our house. There is always SO much packaging that comes with it! If we want to eat out, we go out, and otherwise we are cooking food at home. This is great for the environment, your health, and your wallet!

6. When looking to my recycle bin I noticed we had about a jar of peanut butter each week, so I started making my own peanut butter. I buy peanuts in bulk, make it at home and store in a repurposed glass jar.

7. Bean cans can also take up a lot of space in the recycle bin, and similar to peanus I buy beans in bulk (when I buy anything in bulk I put it directly into a glass mason jar or repurposed coconut oil jar - no plastic!) and soak my beans then cook them to be used in a recipe.

There are 7 ways to reduce your waste - or even just start thinking about the waste you produce and start reducing it. Because we want our kids to have a planet that isn't on fire.