12 Months to Zero Waste
July has arrived and with it comes the bounty of fresh local produce that we are so lucky to have available to us in this beautiful Valley. This month we’re going to explore a few easy ways to reduce waste while stocking our fridges and eating our veggies. Whether you’re loading up at our amazing weekly Farmer’s Market, or dashing into a grocery store on your way home from work, let’s discuss a few simple strategies beyond bringing your own reusable tote bags!
LIST WITH A TWIST
Try This: The Reverse Grocery List
It sounds crazy, but Canadians produce over 50 million tonnes of food waste every year. A significant portion of this, approximately 60%, is avoidable through better planning and awareness. Before heading out shopping, grab a piece of paper or your phone and make a “Waste Less List”. Create 2 columns, on the left side, list all of the fruits and vegetables that you already have in your fridge (it helps to keep a running whiteboard list on the outside of the fridge). Before deciding what’s for dinner, scan the list and see what you can come up with (try using Chat GPT for this, it’s amazing!). Once you have a plan, fill in the second column with only the items that you need to complete your recipe. Reduce food waste, and save money!
HABIT STACK
Try This: Create a Shopping Kit
With the recent plastic bag ban, it seems like BYO Bag has finally become a habitual process for the majority of local shoppers. However, let’s just take a second to consider just how long it took for this seemingly simple change to make its way into the realm of ‘normal’. Changing habits and routines is challenging, and usually requires some sort of disruption to really take hold. So, now that you’ve gotten really good at bringing your totes, let’s add a few more items along with them to have even more impact! First, let's put in a handful of reusable cloth produce bags. These lightweight, mesh bags are great for things like apples, loose carrots, potatoes, green beans, grapes, etc… items that are better contained, but we usually put into plastic bags. Next, we can include a silicone or cloth bread bag or two. If you’re shopping at a bakery, market or even a grocery store with an in-house bakery, any of these places will be happy to hand over naked loaves and save the bags. The key to success here is to store these simple additions with your reusable grocery bags so that when you head out the door, the whole kit-and-caboodle comes along too!
Next Level: Once you’ve got this habit dialed in, try adding a spot for your refill containers to make topping up household cleaners and body products a simple part of your routine.
KEEP IT FRESH
Try This: Wrap it Up
The average Canadian household generates 79 kilograms of food waste annually, with Fruits and vegetables accounting for 45% of this waste. By properly storing fresh fruits and vegetables, you can easily extend the shelf life of these delicate, nutrient-packed morsels, keeping them fresh and delicious longer. While root vegetables, bell peppers, and fungi prefer to be fairly dry, others like celery, cucumbers and lettuce, do better with a little (but not too much) moisture. Enter the Produce Saver Bag: this triple-layer cotton bag is designed to protect your produce while maintaining light moisture in the middle layer to keep your produce fresher for longer. Simply moisten the bag, toss your produce in, fold it up and store it in the fridge (but remember to note what’s inside on your reverse list!). You’ll be amazed at how long your celery will stay crisp and fresh!
By applying these three simple concepts to your kitchen and shopping routines you quickly notice not only a reduction of waste coming into your home, but also heading out! And, you’ll have more time to enjoy the bounty of colours and flavours that summer brings. Now, go get creative with those recipes and let me know what your come up with!