Sustainability in the Kitchen
by Riley Yager
In this blog entry, I will be covering various ways you can make your kitchen a more sustainable environment. Sustainability in the kitchen involves not only your food products and cooking methods, but extends to food storage, waste disposal, appliance usage, and many others. We will start in the refrigerator and talk about eco-friendly food habits, healthy products, and proper disposal of waste. Then I will discuss the shocking truth behind the energy vampires lurking in your kitchen. I will also brief on some green products I use in my kitchen that have reduced my waste significantly.
Green Groceries
There are a lot of things to juggle when trying to maintain sustainable grocery habits. It requires that you pay close attention to details like type of food, food packaging, food ingredients, and food storage. Recycling and composting also play a huge role in a sustainable kitchen.
Where to shop
Finding where to shop depends on person to person and budget to budget. Organic options in local grocery stores are often more expensive and lacking in variety so they are more likely to be looked over. It truly requires a disciplined and conscious effort to maintain an eco-friendly grocery routine.
My first bit of advice is to find yourself a local farmers market to go to each week. Create a meal plan for the week and buy what you can from the market. This is a great way to ensure your food is organic and you are also helping local small farms. The Market at Pepper Place in Birmingham is a great farmers market in the local area.
Grocery stores that I would recommend would be Sprouts and Aldis. Sprouts also as a good selection of produce and healthy options and the price is not too steep. I love to shop at Aldis because they offer plenty of eco-friendly options and the prices are perfect for a college student’s budget.
Recycling
In this section, I will provide a cheat list that you can reference when you are unsure what you can and cannot recycle. If you do not have a road-side recycling pickup set up or available, no worries! Your local Target has recycling bins at the front of every store for your convenience! Be sure to empty and rinse these containers and materials properly. You can check for recycling instructions on the products themselves.
Plastics
Milk Jugs
Soda Bottles
Detergent Containers
Plastic Jars
Shampoo Bottles
Plastic Bags
Metal
Animal Food Cans
Drink Cans
Canned Food Ca
Glass
Baby Food
Jarred Produce
Drink Bottles
Paper
Newspaper
Cereal Boxes
Cardboard
Chip Containers
Mail Envelopes
Clean Paper
Paper Bags
Broth Boxes
Toilet Paper Rolls
Flash Cards
Sticky Notes
Composting
This is going to my favorite section! I started composting about a year ago and I love it. I am a happy plant mom and the compost soil is great for my leaf babies. Composting is easy and can be achieved even if you do not have a yard. I have an apartment and I use a large plant pot I got from Home Depot. First, a reference list of compostable items.
Now, here is a quick how-to when it comes to composting:
Step One: If you have a yard, put compost on bare earth so warms and other beneficial organisms can enter the compost. If you use a plant pot, you can add worms.
Step Two: Lay straw or twigs first to help with proper drainage.
Step Three: Add manure-rich soil
Step Four: Layer compostables so that do not clump and so they mix throughout
Step Five: Keep compost moist
Step Six: Cover to keep in moisture
Step Seven: Turn the compost bi-weekly with a shovel or pitchfork
Energy Vampires
Did you know that the average American household has 65 electronic devices? Of these devices, anywhere from 30 to 50 of them are always drawing power, even if you are not using them or think you have turned them off. Some devices, like your cable modem and internet router, are always on. One study showed that about a quarter of residential energy usage was by devices that were turned off or in sleep mode. This is often called idle or “vampire” power. If that held true throughout the whole US, that would add up to the output of around 50 large power plants and $19 billion in electricity bills every year! (This information is cited below)
I got this information from a lovely article in one of Times magazines. It was the sustainability edition and it was crammed full of interesting tips and facts. This article opened my eyes to my very own energy vampires in my kitchen and throughout my house. I used to keep my Keurig and microwave plugged in at all times and now I only plug them up when I am using them. Same for my phone charger, TV, and hair stylers. I know that this doesn’t seem like much, but I have seen a difference on my power bill. I even suggest you unplug cable and the internet when you leave for long trips. You might even consider investing in a power strip so that you can turn off all devices simultaneously.
- Schlossberg, Tatiana. “The Vampire in Your House.” Time Magazine: The Special Sustainability Edition (2020) pg. 10-13.
Some Suggested Tips & Products
Alright, I am going to keep this section nice and concise. I want to share a few products and tips that I use in my kitchen to help me achieve my sustainability mission.
Bamboo Paper Towels
Some are even machine washable
Beeswax Food Wraps
Target also has great options for eco-friendly food storage
Plant-based Kitchen Wash Brush Set
Hand wash your dishes when possible
Use refillable water bottles
Check out Bungalow Bungalow in Birmingham to check out some eco-friendly kitchen and house cleaning products!