A zero waste home means that everything is either eaten, used, composted or reused in some other creative way. Your contribution to the landfill is zero. This particularly requires some initiative and creativity in the kitchen.
Each day, an average of 4.4 pounds of waste is produced by a single person living in the United States. A large amount of this waste is food scraps, and reducing your waste in the kitchen can make a big impact on your total waste stream.
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Start By Composting
Composting is great for recycling food and great for the garden. To start composting, either purchase a composter or make your own. To find out more about setting up a composting system at your house or apartment click here. You can pretty much add anything to your compost, so to make things easier, here is what you should not compost:
- meat scraps, bones, fat
- dairy
- fish
- inorganic material (like metal, aluminum foil, plastic)
- cat/dog droppings
In your kitchen, figure out a composting system that works for the everyone you live with. Maybe you wish to create a separate bin, container or bag just for the scraps that are to be composted. One easy thing to do is keep a bin in the freezer to add scrap to throughout the day, and then empty into your composter when it’s full. This will eliminate any smells—you could also buy a special container for kitchen scraps like 
Another option is to start vermicomposting, which means adding worms to your compost bin. Your organic waste will decompose quicker, you are feeding these (when you really think about it, adorable) little creatures and developing nutritious soil fertilizer. Simply head to your local hardware or garden store to buy yourself some composting worms.
Change Your Shopping Habits
Packagings and leftovers from food accounts for the majority of total municipal solid waste produced in the United States and only 35% of this waste is recycled. So by becoming a better shopper who is more aware of what you are purchasing, you can change your shopping habits, leading to less waste. Here are some ways in which you can create better habits:
- Always bring a reusable bag when you go shopping. Every year Americans throw 4.20 million tons of plastic bags into landfill, a lot of which end up in our oceans.
- The next step is to start shopping at a bulk food store. And when I say a “bulk” store, I don’t mean a Costco or BJ’s, but a store that offers foods in large quantities that you can add to your own bags and containers to purchase by weight and take home. To find the closest one to you, use this website. The great thing about bulk food stores is that you can purchase items without packaging.
- Bring containers with you to store the foods you buy. Take reusable mesh bags for your produce, organic cotton bags for your dry goods, some mason jars for nuts, and metal containers for your deli purchases like meat, fish, and cheese.
- Don’t use paper to write down your shopping list. Write it in your phone or in a Google doc, so that you can share it with family or friends and refer back to it next time you shop to make it easy.
- Use glass mason jars to store dry goods in your kitchen—they look nice, and seal well.
Other Areas of Waste
Once you have worked out a system of how to reduce waste from food scraps and grocery shopping, it’s time to focus on your kitchen. Here are some additional ways to reduce kitchen waste:
- The first thing you need to do is identify where the waste comes from. Are you using paper towels to clean the kitchen? Do you use single use paper napkins on your dinner table? Identify the areas to eliminate them.
- Instead of using napkins, use cotton cloth napkins that can be washed.
- Instead of paper towel for cleaning spills, use an old rag with some white vinegar mixed with water. If you have leftover paper towels, you can use them up and then compost them.
- Instead of foil and cling film, use BPA free plastic containers to store your food or place an additional plate on top. Or you can use beeswax food covers.
- Place your food scraps in the compost, or use your leftovers to make other meals like soup.
- Use leftover plastic or glass bottles to grow herbs and plants.
- Recycling should be your last resort, instead try to think of creative ways to eliminate buying it in the first place or to reuse.
As you can see, it only takes three steps to make a zero waste kitchen. Start and make it easy enough so that the rest of your roommates or family will follow.
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