Environmentally Aware Kitchen Tips
Don’t buy bottled water to bring home. Carry a reusable bottle everywhere you go, or purchase a refillable 3- or 5-gallon container (Americans use 3.3 million plastic bottles every hour and recycle only 1 in 5)
2. Bring your own grocery bags (Americans toss about 100 billion plastic bags a year, and fewer than 1% are recycled)
3. Eliminate or reduce the use of foil, Ziplocks bags and plastic wrap (glass food storage like Pyrex and Mason jars make great replacements, or wash and dry Ziplock bags)
4. No single-use coffee pods (Millions of these are thrown away every single day, and end up in the landfill)
5. Use recycled paper towels (Americans send 3000 tons of paper towels to the landfill each day)
6. Only run a full dishwasher (and there’s no need to pre-rinse the dishes before you do)
7. Buy recycled & compostable paper cups and plates when needed (it takes 70-90% less energy to make these products, and prevents de-forestation)
8. Buy local (the average American meal travels 1200 miles from farm to plate)
9. Challenge yourself to buy only the foods that are produced within a 100-mile radius of your home
10. Buy fresh instead of frozen (frozen food uses 10x the energy to produce and store)
11. Recycle everything (Americans produce 4.5 pounds of trash per day, with 55% going to landfills and the rest incinerated or recycled)
Awareness is the beginning. Then comes behavior.
Then others notice your behavior and are inspired.
Then we get to cherish and enjoy and preserve our beautiful Earth.
Awareness is the beginning.