In our household the most wasteful area is the kitchen followed by the bathroom and pet paraphernalia. Dairy and meat are just not available without being wrapped in plastic. Even when you buy meat from a local farm, it’s vacuumed-sealed in…you guessed it…plastic! Milk comes in plastic jugs. Cheese comes wrapped in plastic film. Dog food comes in non-recyclable plastic bags. Affordable chicken feed and bedding comes in more challenging plastics to recycle (i.e. you have to drive to recycle them, not curbside pickup). What’s a person to do if they want a low waste kitchen?
In the future, we dream of having our own dairy cow which will greatly decrease our reliance on plastic for our dairy needs. Meat is still tricky. Theoretically I could kill a chicken every time we wanted to eat it for dinner, but that takes time I don’t currently have. Slaughter en masse makes sense from an efficiency standpoint, but how do you store it long-term? Canned meat? Blech. Cure it? Only works for some types of meat. Freeze it? Unless you want freezer burn, vacuum-sealing at this point in time requires single-use plastic. For the time being, we accept we won’t be able to change this area of waste. However, there are lots of other ways to reduce waste in the kitchen that we have been implementing over time.
Start a low waste kitchen today
Upfront, I want to say don’t run out and buy all this stuff if you don’t truly need it. Using up or wearing out what you already have it more environmentally friendly than jumping on the “green” consumerism bandwagon. Needlessly consuming resources for the sake of using a “green” sponge and tossing the perfectly usable “non-green” one is wasteful. Honor the resources used in the creation of an item before your enlightenment. As they wear out, replace with more eco-friendly alternative. (More on this subject from on of my favorite bloggers: You can’t buy your way into being green.)
This conveniently takes away the overwhelm as the lifestyle changes trickle in over time. I used up my body wash, recycled the plastic bottle, then switched to package-free bar soap. Later when our dish sponges were on their last leg, we researched and purchased a compostable version. I’m still working my way through my paper napkin stash for various holidays while building up my own thrifted cloth napkin collection. The slower transition allows us to find an alternative product and save the money needed to purchase each item rather than trying to expensively overhaul the whole house in one fell swoop. Built-in baby steps towards a low-waste lifestyle.
What follows are a few of the things we’ve gradually added to our kitchen, dining, and laundry routines that help reduce our overall waste in those areas.
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Low Waste Kitchen Cleanup
Swedish Dishcloths
We bought our first set spring 2018 and are still using them. Well worth the investment. Pro-tip: cut them in half for double the uses. It’s the perfect size to clean dishes, wipe counters, clean toilets. It’s replaced our clorox wipes and paper towels for counter cleanups and the neon sponges I used to used for dishes. I throw them into the bleach laundry each week and they have never stunk.
Chain Mail Scrubber and Loofah
Feel like a knight in your kitchen! Great for cast iron, and other super stuck on grime. For the less hardcore grime. We use loofah sponges. You can even grow your own!
Handsoap
We purchase a large bottle of Castile soap and refill our foaming dispensers with a combo of soap and water. When I feel like a scented soap, I’ll add whatever essential oil I have on hand.
Bamboo “Paper” Towels
They don’t absorb quite like a paper towel, but they last a pretty good while through the wash and then eventually decompose in our compost bin. After they come off the roll, are used and washed, we put them in a glass container on the counter for re-use. A bamboo towel lasts us about 4-6 months depending on what we use it for; this greatly reduces our reliance on paper towels.
Recycled Paper Towels
We still use them cause the dog makes…ahem messes…time to time. They absorb oil and raw meat juices the best thus far. Luckily, you can purchase them made from recycled paper and they are compostable! Truly gross ones do end up in the trash can regularly, but we do compost close to 50% of the ones we use. Paper goods make for happy worms!
Biodegradable Trash Bags
As I mentioned before, we try to keep our household trash to one grocery-sized bag a week. The farm uses the bags linked above, and we pay for a pinch of them periodically or reuse ones that got wet/opened and can’t be given to customers. We also have some doggie doo-doo bags made from a biodegradable material as well.
DIY Kitchen Cleaners
My favorite all-purpose cleaner for the kitchen is orange vinegar-based. As we eat oranges, mandarins, etc. we save a few peels to put in a jar of white vinegar and then let it sit for about 2 weeks. At that point, I drain out the peel, pour some of the vinegar into a glass spray bottle and dilute to desired strength with water. If I have some unused orange vinegar, it keeps in the fridge for a couple months to refill the spray bottle as needed. Sometimes, we need something a little stronger (think raw meat juice and mystery grime in the sink), so we dilute some bleach in water in a separate spray bottle. Don’t forget high school chemistry class: Never mix vinegar and bleach!
Clothes Line and Drying Rack
Hanging your clothes to dry not only saves money on your power bill but also consumes less energy. We have an indoor retractable clothesline and a drying rack for air drying our clothes. If at all possible I do not iron. The key to softer mostly wrinkle-free clothes is air flow. Windy day outdoors works, but isn’t as predictable and not good for people with seasonal allergies. We have our drying rack in front of the HVAC vent and the clothes line over our dehumidifier (our old house is notoriously humid). Two energy users that we already run that aid us in nearly eliminating our dryer usage. Another trick I like is to put my wet hanging clothes on (non-metal) hangers. When they are dry, I can stick them in the closet quickly without having to fuss with clothes pins.
Low-Waste Food
Re-purpose Glass Jars
We love old salsa jars for storing single servings of soup, oatmeal, stews, and other liquidier items on-the-go. Many glass jars from the store are mason jars and we’ve reused them for canning successfully. Cool whip containers are perfect for dog water bowls on-the-go.
From-Scratch = Low-Waste Kitchen
Make as many food items you can from scratch. Non-processed whole foods are (minimally) packaged in most cases. Beans are cheap, easy to make, and eliminate the need for a can to recycle or toss. For the forgetful, you can cook them in the same day in a slow cooker on low while you’re at work (3/4 cup dry beans to one 15-oz can). You can also make a huge batch and freeze them pre-portioned for recipe shortcuts later. We also make big batches of chicken/veggie broth in the crockpot and freeze them in pre-measured amounts in jars in the freezer for easy use later. Eliminates the need for a can or carton of waste.
Re-use Ziploc and Other Plastic Bags
We still use ziploc bags to freeze our bountiful harvests, but they are washable! So they get reused until they spring a leak. When that occurs they are recyclable in the same bins as plastic grocery bags at the entrance to Walmart/Publix. The only time we toss a ziploc bag is if it contained raw meat or some grease/gunk that just won’t wash out. Also, if you see the number 4 on the bottom of your plastic bags, you can also toss it into the same bin (i.e. frozen veggies bags, toilet paper packaging, bubble wrap, bag from baking potatoes, etc.)
Cloth Napkins
Cheap and fun to find at thrift shops. Sure they get stained and a bit grimy looking over time, but they can be downgraded to rags later, sent to a cloth recycler, or the cotton/linen ones will biodegrade if tossed at the end of their life.
Silverware
Plasticware has become the norm for so many gatherings. Sure, it’s convenient to toss and not have to wash at the end of a party. But it actually doesn’t take that much time for us put the metal ones in the dishwasher (or direct guests to do so). For smaller gatherings we have actually started collecting eclectic thrifted silverware. While they can’t be run through the dishwasher, they are beautiful to use and “spark joy” to borrow Marie Kondo’s phrase. We still have some plasticware in our utensil drawer. We have offered to take the plasticware to family gatherings and had everyone put them in a ziploc bag at the end of the night. Then we ran them through the dishwasher at home and can bring them to the next gathering. You can get several uses out of them before they become too brittle. There should be a little number for the type of plastic on the backside of the plasticware to help you determine where it can be recycled.
Compost Bin
We have a cute green compost container that sits on our counter and get emptied out back in a larger compost bin a couple times a week. The chickens like to scavenge for goodies, and whatever is left over turns into rich soil for our garden. The container has a charcoal filter in the lid to prevent the unsavory smell of rotten cantaloupe from invading the house. If you can’t compost in your current living situation, see if you can contribute to a neighbor or friend’s bin. I have an apartment-dwelling friend who dumps her tea leaves in our compost bin each time she visits.
Package-free Shopping
One of the best ways we’ve found to reduce waste is to decrease the amount entering our kitchen in the first place. This requires a bit more time, commitment, and a dose of resignation that you can’t shop at only one store. The Farmer and I are by no means immune from our convenience culture; the closest bulk food stores to us are 30-45 minutes away. As a result we still buy some of these items in packaging when a trip across town doesn’t fit the schedule. But we try to plan to visit a bulk foods store once-a-month to stock up on pantry staples.
Shifting to this method of shopping is still a work-in-progress for us. It takes more planning and preparation not to mention habit changes! When we started, I created a spreadsheet to keep track of which store had which item available package-free. One store has spices, but not chocolate chips. One store has affordable almond flour, and another is ludicrously expensive. It has gotten easier over time as I’ve memorized which store has what and set aside some extra time to weight jars, bags, and tupperware in advance. Sometimes we have to compromise the ideal “zero-waste” and remember that we are going for an overall waste reduction. It doesn’t make sense to drive 2 hours just to get 4 cups of package-free of oatmeal. Have to draw a line somewhere.
Shop Local
Another way to acquire items without packaging is to get to know your neighbors and local farmers. Conveniently I married a farmer, but we still connect with other growers that raise crops the family farm doesn’t. And you don’t have to rely on professional food growers to reduce your need for plastic wrapped produce. No matter your living situation, you can probably handle a couple of pots. Even if it just a few herbs on a windowsill. A small step that would mean a few less plastic/glass jars of dried herbs needed to purchase and dispose of.
Outside of vegetables, see if any of your friends and neighbors have side hustles. One of our neighbors roasts coffee for a few families, so we send over a mason jar and a bag of produce in trade periodically. Another neighbor is getting into beekeeping and may be a potential source of honey. I have a friend starting a soap-making business. Lots of small ways to not only reduce our environmental footprint, but also support the local economy too!
And…I think this about sums up all I can think of related to our kitchen, laundry, and dining lifestyle changes over the last couple years. If I missed or skipped some chore or item you’re dying to know about, feel free to ask us how we manage _____ or _____? Or if you have any recommendations for a low-waste kitchen, we’d be happy to hear them!
August 2020 Update: COVID-19 has limited our ability to purchase items using our own containers. Until the pandemic subsides, we are attempting to purchase in larger bulk to reduce our plastic waste.