How to apply zero waste in your kitchen

Transitioning to a zero waste lifestyle can be a bit of a challenge, especially in the kitchen. It can be tough to break the kitchen habits we’ve made over the years but trust us; it’s worth the effort.

For beginners, it can be a tad bit intimidating to face zero waste in your kitchen. After all, buying and cooking food can generate a lot of waste (most of the time).

But, you’d be surprised at how easy it actually is to maintain a zero waste kitchen. Here are some tips we can give you on your zero waste kitchen journey:

TAKE IT SLOW
The very first piece of advice we can give is to go at your own pace. It isn’t realistic for you to overhaul your entire kitchen in a span of a few days. It won’t be that easy to find zero waste alternatives to items that you love either. Chances are, you’ll end up feeling overwhelmed and give up.

You should also take your time to familiarize yourself with zero waste. There are plenty of informational hubs on zero waste (like puratium.com for example), to get you started.

UTILIZE REUSABLE CONTAINERS
Take a look around your kitchen. Most of us already have reusable containers, especially for storing leftovers or meals planned ahead of time. But chances are, you’re not maximizing what you have.

Using reusable containers from other products is perfect in the kitchen. If you have tins, jars, and other reusable containers from other items, your kitchen is the best place to put them to use.

MAKE DURABILITY A PRIORITY.
There are so many kitchen items we can buy at affordable prices nowadays. And often, these items also reflect their cost. It’s tough to live a zero waste life if you keep having to replace kitchen equipment every once in a while.

When you buy kitchen equipment and tools, make sure they last a long time. If you have kids at home, reducing breakable hazards such as glass is also a good idea.

Products like double insulated tumblers or natural wooden cups are perfect for this and work wonders for keeping your drinks hot or cold; perfect for making comfort drinks at home. Of course, they’ll last you a long time and are a great positive investment towards zero waste.

Bamboo Drinking Cups by Jungle Culture

BUY IN BULK
Buying in bulk has long been known as a way to save some money when grocery shopping. And fortunately, it also has the added benefit of discarding less waste! Buying bulk bags of goods that don’t expire easily is so much better than buying individual packets.

If you have a bulk store near you that offers refills, then that’s even better! You can take your own containers with you and purchase your goods completely packaging-free.

However, don’t focus all of your zero waste energy on the packaging. A significant portion of an item’s environmental footprint takes place even before it hits the shelves. This means that even if you bought an item without any packaging, that doesn’t get rid of the waste produced along the way.

That said, buying in bulk is still one of the most positive changes you can make in your kitchen life.

COOK WHAT YOU KNOW YOU’LL EAT.
According to the USDA, food waste takes up about 30-40% of the entire U.S. food supply. And while that amount doesn’t only come from household consumption, food waste is a part of the kitchen we, too often, take for granted.

That considered, you should buy food you know you’ll consume on time. You have to strike a balance between buying in bulk and buying only what you can consume in a reasonable timeframe.

But this doesn’t mean you don’t get to experiment! By all means, try out new dishes and ingredients. You never know what new ingredient or recipe you’ll fall in love with.

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SAVE THE SCRAPS
In relation to conscious cooking, there are some times when you have scraps left over like veggies or bones. At first glance, you might feel like there’s nothing left to do with these scraps except throw them away.

Interestingly, there’s actually a lot you can do with scraps. Making veggie broth, for example, is possible by collecting scraps of different vegetables. It’ll work great on soups or stew. We don’t claim to be experts here, but there’s plenty of guides online you can check out.

COMPOST
As much as you try to limit your waste in the kitchen, there might be some times when you just can’t avoid waste.

Composting is your solution to that problem. Plenty of people feel like composting is challenging, and they can’t do it without a large backyard space. But you can actually compost in an apartment, and it’s easier than you might assume.

Having a compost bin is a great way to dispose of scraps right at home; talk about true zero waste! Plus, you can even compost biodegradable packaging from other products like toiletries or makeup, sometimes entire products are compostable, just like these coconut bowls.

Jungle Culture Coconut Bowls

PLAN AHEAD
All those pieces of advice will start to fall apart without proper planning. From the very beginning of your transition to a zero waste kitchen, planning is the key. Take stock of your buying and cooking habits to see which ones to keep and which ones need to step aside.

Plan your purchases and meals ahead to avoid waste during cooking. If you do this, you should be able to successfully use all ingredients with little to no waste.

Planning ahead also means knowing your purchases well and storing them in their proper containers. This will lengthen their storage lives and will make it easier for you to use your items in good time.

THERE IS NO PERFECT ZERO WASTE KITCHEN.
And most of all, remember that there is no perfect zero waste kitchen. You might have specific needs that can’t be accommodated by a strict zero-waste narrative, and that’s okay! Zero waste isn’t meant to be taken literally anyway.

Take your time and enjoy your journey towards a more environmentally-friendly kitchen.