I have mentioned in my previous posts about the wastes we create in our kitchens and their harm to the environment. In fact, living with zero waste may be a lot easier than we think. It is possible to reduce our waste in the kitchen with a few simple but effective methods that will improve our way of life. With these small steps, we can protect both our budget and nature. Let’s take a look at these simple ways together.

Do not buy more than you need!

The first and perhaps the most important method of zero waste is not to buy more than you need. As we all know, one of the most important goals of the zero waste philosophy is to prevent waste.

One way to do this in the kitchen is to prepare a weekly menu and do the kitchen shopping according to this list. In this way, we only buy the materials we need for the meals to be made that week and we do not waste them.

I think one of the important points is not to be hungry when going shopping ☺ When we go with an empty stomach, we will definitely buy things we don’t need because our brain will always tell us to do this ☺

The most important thing to remember here is that the way to reduce waste is to limit consumption. Less consumption equals less waste!

Limit single use products!

Another important point in the zero waste philosophy is waste management. The goal is to produce as little waste as possible.

Considering this, one of the important habits that we can include in our lives is not to use products such as pipets, straws, plastic plates, spoons and forks. Instead of these, we can use bamboo or metal items in our lives. Likewise, we can reduce our waste by using glass bottles or flasks instead of disposable plastic bottles.

For example, we can buy products such as tea towel, kitchen cloth, etc. that you can use continuously instead of towel paper. Of course, we can also reduce our waste by taking care not to buy packaged food and using mesh or cloth bags instead of plastic bags.

Make different foods with bread that has gone stale

Bread is one of the most wasted foods. Here, it may be a good way to not to buy more bread than we will primarily consume. However, if there are stale and dried breads at home, we can learn how to create different flavors by using them by doing a little research on the internet.

Use green vegetables before they wither

Greens have a short lifespan. For this reason, it should be consumed within a few days after buying. If you cannot consume it, you can take as much as you will consume first. Then another method is to fry these greens in oil and store them in the freezer, so we can take them out of the freezer and use them for meals. If there is a small amount of different greens left in the refrigerator, we can combine them and make a vegetable patty. We can dry and store greens such as dill, parsley, celery leaves that we cannot consume immediately.

Do not throw the stalks and roots of greens in the trash!

Contrary to what we think, the stems of greenery are not garbage. It is possible to obtain a healthy vegetable juice by passing these stalks through a juicer along with apple, lemon and cucumber.

Compost organic waste

Compost is the name given to the conversion of organic wastes into fertilizers by various methods. Especially kitchen waste, i.e. food waste, is suitable for composting. Composting is also one of the best ways to add minerals to the soil.

Although it is thought that compost cannot be made in city life, anyone who wants can implement this application even on a small balcony. Vegetable and fruit wastes can be buried in the ground after decomposing in a suitable compost container on the balcony.

When we look at the simple methods written above, it seems like living with zero waste or making a small effort for this is not so difficult, what do you think? 

Considering that there is only one from this world and it is alarming, it becomes more meaningful to add these easy methods to our lives.

Star zero waste, stay green! 

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