4 Actions To Go To ‘zero Waste’ In Your Kitchen

These days there is much talk about zero waste or zero waste , which is the same, avoiding generating waste or waste with our actions and purchases. The impact that our lifestyle is causing on the environment is increasingly obvious and we need our action and awareness at all times.

On the Greenpeace website you can read the following: “The global production of plastics has exploded in the last 50 years, and especially in the last decades. In fact, in the last ten years we have produced more plastic than in the whole of the history of mankind “.

The amounts of garbage that humans produce are having a great impact on the planet. Every year we produce more than 500,000 million plastic bottles. In Europe, plastic production reached 60 million tons in 2016. And in Spain, 50% of packaging ends up in landfills.

This is the context in which this trend or lifestyle zero waste (“zero waste”) was born, with which we try to generate the least amount of garbage possible. And while no impact is virtually impossible today, simply reducing our consumption of single- use plastics and packaging can already help enormously.

If you are one of the people who wants to contribute to the cause, here we give you ideas to start putting zero waste into practice in your kitchen.

1. Avoid plastic utensils

This is one of the best ways to impact the environment. Many people are accustomed to using disposable plates, cutlery, straws and cups that are unnecessarily polluting.

Maybe they are not used daily, but does it not sound like you have seen them at parties, meetings or when you eat out? It is very common to use disposable plates so as not to wash or because you are going to have many guests and you do not have enough plates or because that is simply what they offer you in some food establishments.

To prevent this from happening to you, we suggest that you get a set of bamboo cutlery, which already comes in a case that you can easily carry inside your bag. It is also increasingly common to find sets of folding silicone plates and glasses, which do not weigh or take up space and that you can take with you.

In case of meetings and parties, you can borrow plates instead of buying disposable ones. It may seem cumbersome at first, but you are giving your guests a lesson and doing the environment a favor.

2. Buy most of your food in bulk or bagless.

This point has several advantages for the benefit of the environment and your health. If you bring your own bags, containers and / or jars when making the purchase, you will stop generating an inordinate amount of garbage.

Also, normally when you buy your products in bulk, they tend to be fresher and more local, so in turn you are supporting small producers and people who live in the same community.

3. Use natural detergents and cleaners

This point can not only be applied in your kitchen, but in the cleaning of the whole house. It is preferable that you use natural products such as white vinegar and baking soda to clean your kitchen.

You will thus avoid chemical products with components that can be toxic to you and the environment (most of these products end up in seas and oceans, damaging the seabed, fauna and flora).

And of course, if you can get these products in bulk or in biodegradable packaging, the better.

4. Separate the garbage

Zero waste means generating the least amount of garbage possible. The waste that is generated is classified into:

1. Those that you can reuse for other things (you extend the life of the products).
2. Those that are organic products that you can use as compost or to make a vegetable broth (with the stems and parts of the vegetables that you normally throw away).
3. The inorganic waste, which normally are we avoid generating.

You will find many other ideas to reduce your waste at home in this other article. It does not matter where you are or how rigorous you have been with the subject, what counts is that you get going from now on and do something to improve the situation on our planet Earth.