Food waste disposal is a growing concern with the many costs it incurs to our communities in terms of waste collection, disposal and greenhouse gases. It only makes sense that getting rid of the food waste in your kitchen requires a variety of approaches. When you food waste ends up in the bucket instead of utilizing other initiatives, it cost you money and wastes the water and energy resources used to originally produce the food.
When food waste is trucked into landfills and incinerated, it produces dangerous bio-gas emissions. Food scraps decompose quickly at these sites thereby producing methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is at least twenty-one times more potent at altering our climate and trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. It has an acidic liquid residue that can seep into the groundwater and contaminate it.
There are a variety of methods that you can design into your kitchen that will reduce the waste produced, such as better storing of food, meal preparation disposal and after meal storage or disposal. It can be simple approaches you take to reduce the waste your household generates from food and packaging.
Wet Food Containers
Blue box recycling is a major initiative to reduce packaging materials and most municipalities have programs in place for their communities. Also, today in many urban communities, programs have begun to have households dispose of their wet food materials using a wet food container. These types of wet food containers help household owners collect the food scraps in the kitchen and dispose of them on a scheduled collection date in the same manner as blue box recycling.
Proper Planning
Much of the food waste in our kitchens comes from inadequate planning, buying too much food or preparing too much food. Portion control means preparing just the right amount of food that your family eats.
Planning your shopping list is important to keep you on track and help you to save money. A large proportion of food waste comes from not planning your meals around the food left in your refrigerator; hence, past due dates occur and waste occurs.
Food Storage
Keep your food fresh and avoid wasting energy by having your fridge set at the right temperature between 3 and 4 degrees Celsius for the fridge and between minus 15 and minus 18 degrees Celsius for the freezer. Airtight containers and zip lock bags are great for keeping leftovers. You can store lots of food in the freezer until you need it.
Blue Boxes
You can have different size blue boxes in your kitchen to accommodate the various food related products, such as one for hard plastics, tins, paper, foil, pie trays, glass, etc. and one for paper from packaging. The majority of packaging that comes with your food can be avoided or recycled. Make sure you know what your local municipality will not collect.
Composting
Composting is a great way to keep your yard waste and kitchen scraps from the landfill and by doing so you are doubly rewarded. You can compost any uncooked organic waste, including cardboard and paper, and don’t worry if you have a garden on which to spread your composted humus. Even in big cities, many local farmers markets and organizations will gladly accept your compost.
After following some of these ideas to reduce your kitchen waste from meal preparation, be sure to rethink how to better dispose of kitchen scraps before tossing anything in the trash.
If you find yourself spending lots of your time in the kitchen and have been thinking it could use a makeover, Contact The Wright Kitchen and speak with the Kitchen Redesign professionals today.