From lining our bins with newspaper, to saving vegetable scraps and making our own veggie stock, we’re big fans of finding ways to be Zero Waste in the kitchen; and one of the best ways to reduce our waste is to limit the amount of single use plastic we bring into our homes, kitchens, and ultimately into the waste stream.
One of the core missions of our shop is to educate people in our community how they can make their lives more eco-friendly, including going Package-Free.
We also acknowledge that being 100% Zero Waste or Plastic-Free can be very difficult and that everyone has different needs, incomes, and abilities – all which can affect their ability to make certain changes.
Buy in Bulk
Apart from often being cheaper in the long run, one of the major benefits of buying certain products for your home in bulk is that there’s no packaging (or at least less packaging than buying lots of smaller quantities).
And if you’re wary or hesitant about trying new products, another benefit of buying bulk is the ability to determine how much of the product you’re buying. Unsure if you’ll like the brown rice at the bulk store? Bring a cup sized container, try it out and decide if you want to go back for more. Need 1 teaspoon of a spice for a recipe? Come in and just buy a teaspoon!
Alternatives to Plastic Produce Bags
While Nova Scotia has banned single use plastic bags some of the exceptions to that ban can still show up in your shopping basket – loose bulk items like fruits, nuts, and vegetables are exempt from the ban and stores may still carry plastics to carry these items.
The next time you’re at the store picking up some veggies, think about skipping the plastic produce bags for items like carrots, onions, peppers, fruits; things that are already protected by a peel and will be washed or peeled before cooking and preparation. They can go straight into your reusable bag!
You can also consider reaching out to your store and asking them for more options. Maybe they can offer paper bags, or let you bring your own reusable containers (like we do ;D)
Eco-Friendly Dish Soap Options
No one likes doing the dishes, but it's a necessary chore and depending on how many dishes your household is going through each day it can be easy to go through a couple of bottles of dish soap a month.
Everyone’s accessibility needs are different. If the squirt bottles work best for you, see if you can find companies that use more eco friendly packaging or refill your current dish soap bottle. Maybe pump tops work best for you, and you have an extra mason jar lying around - we have these great pump tops that attach to mason jars!
Other alternatives include Dish Tabs for your dishwasher or Solid/Bar Soaps.
These are just some of the things you can try out this #PlasticFreeJuly. Feel free to share your ideas with us on social media or our Facebook page.
Just tag us @thetareshop and our partner @plasticoceanscanada and use the hashtags #PFJ #PlasticeFreeJuly #ZeroWaste #PlasticFreeKitchen
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