Category: Reduce Waste

Freeze, can, and dehydrate to reduce food waste

10/6/2023

You can reduce food waste by extending the life of perishable food through freezing, canning, and drying.

The bounty of fruits and vegetables in summer and early fall can be overwhelming when you feel the pressure to enjoy these fresh foods before they turn bad. Extend the life of the foods you grow, buy, and prepare using a few kitchen tricks. The Pennsylvania Resources Council states that perishable foods account for 76% of food wasted. They suggest these techniques for helping your food keep longer:

Store food properly: When placed in well-sealed containers and out of heat and high humidity, food will stay fresh longer.
Use your freezer: Too many vegetables to eat? Blanch them, spread them to dry before packaging, then store in the freezer. Soups, dinner leftovers, and baked goods can be placed in smaller serving containers to defrost just the quantity you need later.
Learn how to can: Canning is very doable at home. You can find the supplies you need (jars and lids) at your local grocery store. This is a great way to preserve fruits and pickled vegetables for up to a year.
Dehydrate: Use an electric dehydrator or oven to make fruit leathers, vegetable chips, and jerky. Enjoy as a snack or rehydrated in your favorite dishes.
Make soup! Vegetable soup, hot or cold (such as gazpacho), is a great way to use those last vegetables before they spoil. Leftover soup can then be frozen for later.

See more details and ideas from the PRC flyer.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Pack waste free lunches

9/22/2023

Packing lunches into reusable containers with real utensils and washable napkins not only cuts down on food and packaging waste but also saves you money on purchasing disposable items and small serving size packages.

Packing up lunch items into reusable containers eliminates the single use plastic sandwich bags and allows you to dispense the amount that will be eaten in a meal, cutting down wasting uneaten food. Buy larger quantities of snacks, carrots, applesauce, yogurt, or cheese, and just pack the quantity needed for one meal, saving you money compared to the pre-packaged single servings, which also produce a lot more trash. Dips, ketchup, sauces, and dressing can also be portioned into small reusable containers. Cloth napkins and stainless steel or bamboo utensils are great options for replacing the disposable ones. Pour water or other drinks into a reusable bottle, or use a thermos to keep drinks hot or cold for hours. Then pack everything in a reusable lunch box or bag! Bento box style lunch boxes offer a variety of options for container types and sizes.
See this article for other ideas.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Make your own soda

9/8/2023

Make refreshing maple cream and other sodas at home with just a few ingredients--and lose the calories, additives, and packaging of store-bought.

Homemade sodas use wholesome ingredients and much less sugar than commercial varieties, not to mention no high fructose corn syrup or preservatives. They are also easier on your pocketbook and the environment. How does maple cream, honey ginger, lemon basil or lavender plum sound?

Read more here.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Avoid single-use coffee pods

8/11/2023

Consider the waste generated when using single use coffee pods

Single use coffee pods have become very popular due to their convenience for making a single cup of coffee. However, those pods are difficult to recycle, which means they all end up in the trash and are amounting to a huge addition to the waste stream. InHabitat.com lists some alternatives that are now on the market that are either refillable, biodegradable, or make changes to existing machines so that they can now make single cups of coffee. Since few people actually recycle coffee pods, some coffee pod manufacturers are trying to make pod recycling easier.

Don't bag thick-skinned produce

6/9/2023

To reduce the need for plastic bags, don’t bother bagging produce with thick skins, such as lemons, bananas, and avocados.

Rethink bagging produce with thick skins before placing them in your grocery cart. The thick, inedible skins of produce such as citrus fruits, bananas, and avocados make plastic produce bags unnecessary when selecting them at the grocery store. Reduce your use of plastic bags by placing these items directly into your shopping cart or into a reusable bag.

Use washcloths instead of disposable wet wipes

4/21/2023

Billions of disposable wet wipes are being added to the waste stream each year, clogging sewage systems and washing up on beaches, choking wildlife that attempt to consume them. Antibacterial chemicals in wipes in particular can be harmful to human health directly and by promoting the growth of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Reduce your own expenditures by using washcloths instead. See our green tip for Swedish dishcloths for a durable reusable alternative.

For more information on wet wipes, see this article in The Guardian.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Though none are yet completely sustainable, look for pens made from biodegradable materials.

3/10/2023

Like a straw or plastic bag, the ordinary pen is an environmental challenge waiting to be solved. Though none are yet completely sustainable, look for pens made from biodegradable materials.
Plastic bags and straws are increasingly being banned but rarely do we think about the impact of the ink pen. The ones that don’t make it to the landfill become part of the microplastics problem. The good news is that companies are beginning to change.

Read more here:

--https://www.treehugger.com/best-eco-friendly-pens-5201425?hid=5cca5cc09cf857f7c3ce2406e7447b3b9236437e&did=868696-20221107&utm_campaign=treehugger-daily_newsletter&utm_source=treehugger&utm_medium=email&utm_content=110722&cid=868696&mid=101354222170

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Mend jeans

3/2/2023

Creative mending will Keep favorite jeans going indefinitely and even enhance them.

Denim is like wine and cheese; it gets better with age. By repairing your loved jeans—either professionally or by yourself, you can extend the time you enjoy them, save money, lower your environmental footprint, and kick their style up a notch.

Read more here:

--https://denimhunters.com/how-to-repair-jeans/

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Buy in bulk

2/24/2023

Buying spices, grains, pasta, and other foods in bulk allows you to buy just the quantities you want in reusable bags, reducing food waste, plastic bag use, and cost.

You may already be reducing your use of single use plastic bags by bringing your reusable shopping bags to the grocery store. You can further reduce the amount of plastic packaging that you purchase by buying from the bulk aisle. Bring your own bags and bottles to stock up on spices, pasta, dried beans, nuts, granola, oatmeal, rice, and other grains. Reuse the bags each time you make a bulk purchase or invest in cloth or mesh bags for this purpose. Another advantage of buying in bulk is that you can buy just the quantity that you need, so it allows you to reduce food waste. Spices in particular are less expensive bought in bulk, particularly because you can just get the quantity that you need. They may also be fresher, as they can sit in the bottles for a long time before being sold. A number of stores in our area offer a selection of bulk foods including the Swarthmore Food Co-op, Martindale’s in Springfield, and the Giant Food on Sproul Rd. in Springfield. Eliminate the packaging for spices at the Swarthmore Food Co-op by bringing your own bottle or container and ask the cashier to get a tare weight.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Give your Valentine a succulent plant rather than cut flowers

1/27/2023

Consider a gift of succulents for Valentine’s Day—they are lower in cost than cut flowers, available in gift boxes, and may be planted in soil up to two weeks after purchase. If shipped, they don’t require refrigeration.

An eye-popping succulent arrangement makes a beautiful gift for Valentine’s Day or other special occasion. Succulents are a popular indoor trend offering endless variations for relatively modest costs and can be purchased at local nurseries or online. They can provide temporary beauty or be planted for long life.

Read more here:

--https://www.treehugger.com/unique-green-alternatives-cut-flowers-4857107?hid=5cca5cc09cf857f7c3ce2406e7447b3b9236437e&did=884127-20221214&utm_campaign=treehugger-daily_newsletter&utm_source=treehugger&utm_medium=email&utm_content=121422&cid=884127&mid=104390502275&lctg=120446448

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

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