I was watching a video a few minutes ago about a woman who claims to have a "zero waste kitchen." As I watched, I realized she really had eliminated pretty much every form of waste I could think of.
She buys milk in glass bottles that she can take back to the farm to have them refilled. She buys fresh produce from a farmer's market where there are no stickers or bags used. She buys her pantry items from bulk bins that she can use her own glass jars and canisters to fill, and the same style of canisters are used to buy fresh meat from the market. She only buys one meat a week, so that she utilizes every part possible and none of it ever goes bad and has to be tossed out because she's using it in short amounts of time.
Do you think a zero waste kitchen is truly possible? How close are you with the way you stock and use your kitchen?
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3
Zero Waste Kitchens
Started by Jessi, Feb 02 2012 01:01 PM
19 replies to this topic
#3
Posted 02 February 2012 - 03:00 PM
Honestly, I'm not that close, but I think I could be. It takes a little extra money to stock up on glass jars and re-usable containers, which I do 1 or 2 at a time, and I have a few different grocery stores near here, including a co-op, with lots of bulk bins, which I buy from. If I buy meat from the counter it's wrapped in paper, but I hadn't thought about bringing a container for that. I think it's easier to have a zero waste kitchen if you do all of your own cooking, which we do, but mine would never be completely zero waste because we do enjoy the occasional take-out treat or ice cream or things that come pre-packaged. But for the most part I could probably do better. But even so, any food waste we have gets composted and almost everything else gets recycled, so it's not terrible. It would be better to try and get close to zero waste though, I admit.
#4
Posted 02 February 2012 - 03:21 PM
Oh, I didn't actually link to the lady, so if anyone is interested, here's the article they had about her on The Kitchn: http://www.thekitchn...magazine-164534 It links to a couple of other articles about "waste free" living, like for the bathroom and laundry room, too.
#6
Posted 02 February 2012 - 04:08 PM
In the kitchen, we got two trash bins. One for the recyclable and the other one is for non-recyclable wastes. I always check each bins everytime I collect them and see to it that everyone in the house is putting the right waste on it. At first, it is quite difficult to dicipline all the household people. But eventually, after some nagging to them, they are now following it correctly. Papers and bottles were segregated and place on the garrage.
#7
Posted 02 February 2012 - 04:25 PM
It's possible, but in modern society, the best we can do is pay attention to product packaging and recycle
as much of that as possible; buying in bulk when feasible to reduce packaging.
The Amish do it, but theirs is driven by religion and lifestyle. Home grown goodies, gardens, farm
animals, etc.
as much of that as possible; buying in bulk when feasible to reduce packaging.
The Amish do it, but theirs is driven by religion and lifestyle. Home grown goodies, gardens, farm
animals, etc.
#8
Posted 02 February 2012 - 08:58 PM
We have a long way to go in our kitchen. We are trying hard to cut down on what goes out, by buying better packaged items in the first place. We are doing better, though. More and more items can be recycled now than a year ago. I am amazed how she has zero waste from her kitchen.
#9
Posted 02 February 2012 - 09:29 PM
Shortpoet-GTD, on 02 February 2012 - 04:25 PM, said:
It's possible, but in modern society, the best we can do is pay attention to product packaging and recycle
as much of that as possible; buying in bulk when feasible to reduce packaging.
The Amish do it, but theirs is driven by religion and lifestyle. Home grown goodies, gardens, farm
animals, etc.
as much of that as possible; buying in bulk when feasible to reduce packaging.
The Amish do it, but theirs is driven by religion and lifestyle. Home grown goodies, gardens, farm
animals, etc.
The packaging problem is the biggest issue. I was excited when one store started selling juice and encouraging standardized containers to be brought in where a machine automatically washed them before filling them. Unfortunately, that lasted less than a year before the machine was removed. Apparently, it was too costly to wash the containers and run the machine and the store couldn't tolerate customers cleaning their own because of the health law implications. That aside, my biggest "beef" is the meat packaging and the tetrapacks that are comprised of just too much unrecoverable waste.
#10
Posted 03 February 2012 - 08:10 AM
With that example, I also think it is possible.
In our kitchen here, we are far from being a zero waste kitchen yet. We do consume powdered milk and definitely it has a container (carton and plastic) and no near farm here to just refill a milk bottle if ever we would want to. We peel the vegetables we consume as well as the fruit but of course those can be decompose. We also fond of using seasonings that are plastic packed.
In our kitchen here, we are far from being a zero waste kitchen yet. We do consume powdered milk and definitely it has a container (carton and plastic) and no near farm here to just refill a milk bottle if ever we would want to. We peel the vegetables we consume as well as the fruit but of course those can be decompose. We also fond of using seasonings that are plastic packed.
#11
Posted 03 February 2012 - 10:41 AM
Shortpoet-GTD, on 02 February 2012 - 04:05 PM, said:
Video not available.
Hmm, I watched it just fine and can still see it now. Did you click through the video link?
Here's the direct link to it: http://www.sunset.co...00418000073296/ Sorry.
#12
Posted 08 February 2012 - 02:02 PM
I think it's possible to take things too far, and that's what this lady seems to have done. Moderation in all things - including recycling and green living, otherwise there's a danger of falling into obssession. Obssession with anything is not healthy - even obssession with green living. This lady is missing so many opportunities to enjoy life while she's looking around for more ways to cut waste.
#14
Posted 13 March 2012 - 07:53 AM
Sandra Piddock, on 08 February 2012 - 02:02 PM, said:
I think it's possible to take things too far, and that's what this lady seems to have done. Moderation in all things - including recycling and green living, otherwise there's a danger of falling into obssession. Obssession with anything is not healthy - even obssession with green living. This lady is missing so many opportunities to enjoy life while she's looking around for more ways to cut waste.
My biggest question with what this lady is doing is the cost effectiveness of the whole thing. Buying packaged foods are more costly in the long run, but where you buy your bulk items could be even more costly. It would be a big problem for me to be carrying around all the containers to refill. I wouldn't mind being a little time consuming, but this sounds like a full time job just to meet the household needs. I agree on cutting waste, at least as much as we can, but I see this as going overboard. Another problem is things are not done the same in every area of the globe. All these ideas are not available in my area and some that are cost way too much. As far as I'm concerned, when it takes all you make just to cut waste, there should be some give somewhere.
#16
Posted 16 May 2012 - 09:31 AM
I think that there are some really good ideas that she has. There are some that I would be able to do but I don't know if I could ever be 100% waste free in the kitchen.
Here is the link to her blog: http://zerowastehome.blogspot.com/ .
I haven't had a chance to go through all of it but it sounds like she wants the whole house to be completely waste free. I will see if I can find more ideas there when I have a little bit more time.
Here is the link to her blog: http://zerowastehome.blogspot.com/ .
I haven't had a chance to go through all of it but it sounds like she wants the whole house to be completely waste free. I will see if I can find more ideas there when I have a little bit more time.
#17
Posted 19 August 2012 - 12:27 AM
It seems like some of the things she does are quite time consuming. Maybe her husband is the one who works. 
There are some great ideas and smart choices in the video. Not all of them apply to my life. I live in a city where there are skyscrapers, noisy car alarms and a high crime rate- there are no farmers here to sell me milk in glass bottles.
I'll take the ideas that I can from the video, but I don't have time to do everything she does. I have to work for a living.
Making jams and jellies? Really?
There are some great ideas and smart choices in the video. Not all of them apply to my life. I live in a city where there are skyscrapers, noisy car alarms and a high crime rate- there are no farmers here to sell me milk in glass bottles.
I'll take the ideas that I can from the video, but I don't have time to do everything she does. I have to work for a living.
Making jams and jellies? Really?
#18
Posted 19 August 2012 - 02:28 AM
I am no where near as organized as she is. It seems it takes much forethought and organization. I like the way she shops and then can just come home and put away the very containers/jars she shopped with. Good convenience. This is food for thought. Her report is truly about a lifestyle change, that requires giving time for things valued and I think we can all take a valuable lesson away from that.
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