The kitchen is probably the most wasteful place in your home. In fact, the majority of your household waste will be related to the preparation, storage, and cleanup of food and drink. The good news is—this makes it the best place to start for a more sustainable lifestyle! With just a few products, you could cut your household waste down by half if not more. Let’s look at some of the top products for a more sustainable kitchen.
1. Compost Bin
The first and most impactful thing you could do for a more sustainable kitchen is to start composting. If your county collects compost, purchasing an indoor compost bin can cut your waste by as much as 50%. Food that’s thrown into the landfill decomposes and produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas that traps 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide, significantly contributing to global warming. Yikes! On the other hand, composting food scraps through a municipal or home composting system exposes decomposing matter to oxygen, which prevents methane from being produced. It also creates organic fertilizer for home and commercial gardeners, eliminating the need for chemical fertilizers. Now that’s a win-win!
2. Reusable Food Storage Containers
Instead of single-use plastic baggies, switch to reusable food storage containers. Food-contaminated plastic can’t be recycled and will eventually end up in your local landfill or the ocean. In time, it’ll break down into microplastics that can adversely affect local wildlife, soil, water tables, and surrounding ecosystems. By making the switch, you’ll not only be saving money, but reducing waste, carbon emissions, and environmental pollution as well. These containers are often dishwasher-friendly and come in small, medium, and large sizes, so you can store anything from half a lemon to leftovers for two.
3. Reusable Bottles, Mugs, & Straws
If I had a dollar for every time I saw a plastic water bottle or a styrofoam cup on the roadside, I’d be rich! You can do the planet a huge favor by simply switching to a stainless-steel water bottle or an insulated travel mug. If you’re prone to forgetting your bottles or mugs in different places, you can buy a few and spread them out in your home, car, and workplace. If you prefer using a straw to sip your drinks, try switching to a stainless steel straw, which is durable and endlessly reusable. I’ve even seen stainless steel boba straws, which is great if you have a boba tea addiction!
4. Compostable Dish Sponges & Natural Scrubbers
Plastic dish sponges are so last century. Not only do they release microplastics into our municipal water system, but they’re also doomed to end up in a landfill and potentially into the environment. Nowadays, there are plenty of alternatives made from natural and biodegradable materials for a more sustainable kitchen. I encourage you to try out compostable sponges made of plant fibers or natural scrubbers made from sisal and bamboo. In my tests, many of these alternatives last just as long if not longer than their plastic counterparts.
5. Compostable Parchment Paper
There was a time when I used aluminum foil to bake pretty much everything. Upon discovering that compostable parchment paper existed, it completely blew my mind! Uncoated and unbleached, compostable parchment paper offers a great alternative to traditional foil, as well as wax-coated parchment papers, which can only go into the trash after exposure to food.
6. Cotton Dish Towels
Ditch single-use paper towels in favor of long-lasting, cotton dish towels. Trees are valuable carbon sequesters that trap and store carbon dioxide from the environment. As such, cutting them down to make single-use disposables is quite wasteful. Natural fibers such as cotton grow much faster than trees, making them an ideal alternative. Not only can you use cotton dish towels for multiple things–such as wiping hands, surfaces, dishes, and spills–but they’re also a dream to clean. After a quick cycle in your washer and dryer, they’re back in action. Of course, buying them a darker color would keep them looking their best, as stains do happen over time (thanks a lot, tumeric).
7. Beeswax Wraps
Every now and then, you’ll find yourself in a situation where you need some cling wrap, whether it’s for that half of a watermelon you’re saving for later or your favorite mixing bowl that doesn’t have a lid. If you’re completely against using plastic wrap like me, then never fear, the humble beeswax wrap is here to save your day! Made with natural and non-toxic ingredients like beeswax, resin, and cotton, beeswax wraps are pliable and self-adhering like cling wrap. However, they have the advantage of being waterproof, washable, and reusable for months. When it’s time to retire them, simply drop them into your compost bin.
8. Cotton Produce Bags
Instead of using the disposable plastic bags offered at the grocery store to buy and store produce, try cotton produce bags instead. Cotton bags are renewable and come in various sizes to fit all sorts of food. You can choose between loose-weave produce bags (for breathability) and solid produce bags (for grains, seeds, and nuts). To prevent leafy greens from wilting, wet your bags before placing produce inside—they should stay fresh for up to a week in a crisper drawer. When it’s time to clean them, wash them just like any cotton T-shirt in your wardrobe.
9. A French Press
Buying a French Press can eliminate more than just a coffee pot from your sustainable kitchen. At its most basic level, a French Press is simply a pitcher with a fine mesh filter that enables you to either steep or press solids and then isolate the resulting liquid. That’s why it has a variety of applications. Use it to make hot and cold-brewed coffee, teas and herbal remedies, cocktails, plant-based milks, or infused oils. You can even use it to make frothed milk by plunging the filter down repeatedly over hot milk! One of my favorite applications is to use it to press excess water out of vegetables I’m pickling. With one device, you can eliminate the need for paper coffee filters, cheesecloths, tea sachets, teapots, cocktail shakers, and electric milk frothers, saving you space and cash in the long run.
10. Cloth Napkins
Cloth napkins dress up a dining table the way jewelry dresses up an outfit. Not only are cloth napkins beautiful and decorative, but they’re also a great alternative to disposable paper napkins. Firstly, they can be washed and reused, which saves money over the long haul. Secondly, since they’re often made from natural fibers such as cotton and linen, they’re more renewable than paper napkins, which are usually made from tree pulp. Thirdly, you can use them for multiple purposes, like covering a bread basket, proofing dough, protecting heat-sensitive surfaces, or even accenting a dish for food photography. And on top of all that, they have the power to elevate your dining experience and seriously impress guests. If you want to mask stains for a long time, try buying patterned or dark-colored napkins.
Conclusion
While the kitchen is one of the most difficult areas to tackle for sustainability, it’s one of the most important areas to address if you want to reduce waste and adopt a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. Switching to any of these sustainable kitchen products can drastically reduce your household’s carbon footprint and positively impact the environment. If you already have some of these items at home, then congratulations and keep up the good work! If not, I promise it’ll be worth it! Once you get the hang of using these products, you’ll be amazed by how easy it is to make eco-friendly choices for your home and the planet.
