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The “zero” and “less waste” movements, which are primarily aimed at reducing the amount of waste we produce, are gaining more and more popularity. According to statistical data, the average Pole produces an average of 315 kg of municipal waste per year!
You are not convinced whether it is worth limiting the production of rubbish at all? At this link https://www.theworldcounts.com you will see how many tons of garbage we have thrown around the world so far. Their number is constantly growing and makes a shocking impression … Unfortunately, more and more garbage ends up in our natural environment – forests and other green areas are littered, seas, lakes and oceans are polluted.
What does less waste mean?
In line with the idea of ”less waste” (which literally means “less waste”), we should make more thoughtful purchasing decisions, use leftovers and leftovers from products, limit consumption and, among other things, use our food responsibly. Perhaps you are already adhering to some of these principles.
What then is “zero waste”?It’s a more radical concept, based on a few simple principles known as 5R. Among them we find five main ones:
- Refuse all unnecessary waste, such as leaflets, plastic packaging.
- Reduce consumption of unnecessary products, including overpackaged, disposable and low-quality goods that quickly become waste.
- Reuse products that you already have in your possession, for example a glass bottle as a vase.
- recycle and segregate waste.
- Compost (rot) and buy products that will decompose and return to the environment in a friendly form.
The implementation of these principles can be very difficult to implement overnight for many reasons, but we have prepared a few simple ways, thanks to which you can start taking care of our planet today.
Use your own packaging
The first patent for minimizing the production of food-related wasteis to use your own packaging. Nowadays, the possibilities are increasing – if you like to drink coffee “in the city” and buy it to go in a specific cafe, it is worth having your own thermo-insulating mug or a special bottle with you (of course, you can prepare coffee or tea at home and enjoy your favorite warm drink during a few more hours).
Thanks to this, drinking such coffee every day on the way to work, you will not throw away as many as 20 paper / plastic disposable cups in a month! This is really a lot of rubbish. Some cafes also offer a discount for buying coffee for your cup, so it’s not only minimizing waste production, but also reducing costs. Additionally, it is definitely worth drinking tap water and not buying bottled water. If you do not like its taste, jugs and filtering bottles are a good solution, and we have recently collected even more ideas in this article https://.pl/5-sposobow-na-umilenie-sobie-wodnej-monotonii.
In addition, some companies recycle their filters – it is worth paying attention to this when choosing a jug or bottle. If you travel a lot and / or often eat take-away at work, school or university, you should also consider carrying your own cutlery with you. You can buy special “travel” mini sets, but of course taking the “fork, knife, spoon” set from home with you is the best option here. Of course, all lunchboxes or other types of packaging intended for food storage are also welcome.
Do green shopping
You can also take your own containers with you to stores more and more often and buy there, for example, cold cuts, cheese and other products sold by weight. We then eliminate unnecessary foils and papers. The same applies to restaurants, cafes and bars. More and more places of this type allow you to pack cakes or take-away meals into your own containers (as in the case of coffee or tea poured into your own cup, you can often find discounts in such situations).
There are also shops where you can buy practically everything for your own packaging – grains, spices, seeds, dried fruit, legume seeds, etc. If there is such a shop in your area, I strongly encourage you to use its services. This is good not only for the environment, but also supports local family businesses (shops of this type are usually small, local initiatives).
If you do not have one yet, then be sure to equip yourself with a larger fabric bag. Certainly, smaller bags will also prove to be useful – linen, cotton, made to order or sewn independently from old curtains, bedding, tablecloths or thin towels. We can pack them, among others, bread, fruit and vegetables.
If you already use plastic bags, the so-called “skidding”, try to have as few of them as possible – for example, you can pack various types of rolls into one net, and then at the checkout you can say how much there is in it. Items bought by the piece, such as garlic and avocado, also do not need to be packed in separate bags.
Use your creativity
What you can do yourself! Of course, it all depends on the time you have, as well as the possibilities and skills, but contrary to appearances, you can prepare a lot of things at home. It’s not just about salads, sandwiches or whole lunch dishes to go to work. and the Tasty Matched diet will be happy to help you with this 🙂 You can, however, start bake your own bread and cakes, pickle vegetables – cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes, garlic, prepare juices in a juicer or smoothies in a blender …
There are many possibilities, and implementing these solutions will have a positive impact not only on the environment, but also on your health and your wallet. If you additionally have a garden or some space on the balcony, your own breeding may be an interesting idea and hobby. This year I had delicious cherry tomatoes, lettuce and herbs – basil and mint (and this is “only» a balcony!).
Perhaps there is a food cooperative in your city, i.e. an initiative that (briefly) brings together small producers of food such as vegetables, fruit or dairy products, and on the other hand, people who want to eat healthier and more ecologically. Such a cooperative operates, for example, in Poznań. On their website you can find a more detailed description of the activity. https://poznanskakooperatywa.pl.
Don’t waste your food
First of all, do not buy too much of it – if the packaging is larger than you need, try planning your next meals yourself using the product. For example, in the Tasty Matched online diet menu, in the “Search” tab, you can enter all the products from your refrigerator. Below you will find all the recipes for which you can use your food.
Additionally, it can be an interesting experience to eat what you can, whole. The advice may seem funny, but apples or pears can be eaten with the peel, which is not only “zero waste”, but also healthy and often very tasty.
Although we do not always know about it, you can also use many elements that seem to be waste – make a pesto from radish leaves, add cauliflower leaves to curry dishes, and if we are left with dry bread, make it “breadcrumbs” and not buy her at the store. We are limited only by our imagination (and of course the “edibility” of individual parts of the products, but here we can be pleasantly surprised).
Pay attention to the packaging
Pay close attention to how the individual products are packed. Some sweets and snacks are packed in one collective packaging, and inside there are several / a dozen additional small plastic bags.
It is also worth buying tea in the form of leaves – then we are dealing not with single bags (which can sometimes be packed separately in another small plastic packets – a nightmare!), But with one carton, jar or can. These, in turn, can be used in the future as containers or decoration.
I know that reducing litter is not always easy and not always possible. Make changes calmly, in accordance with your pace and possibilities. Every little step counts. You do not have time to bake bread, or composting conditions for growing plants on a mini balcony? Start taking your own mug to your favorite coffee shop and don’t take coffee to go, and take your own favorite bag to the store. This is also important and helps! The point is to try to change something and to make it happen, as much as possible, more and more.
Be sure to let us know in the comments what your proven ideas for reducing waste production. Or maybe you already use the solutions proposed on our list? 🙂