Traditional curb pickup garbage and recycling services aren’t the be-all and end-all of greener living. If you have the option to recycle your glass and plastics, you should, but there are a ton of other things you can do to cut back on the amount of waste you produce and reuse the things you already have, too. If you look, you may even find some serious money saving tips in the process.  Whether you’re trying to make a conscious effort to be a little more eco-friendly, or you just want to cut down on the number of trips you take to the garbage bin every week, AppliancePartsPros.com has you covered. In this guide we discuss four practical tips to reduce kitchen waste other than recycling.

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4 Simple Ways to Reduce Kitchen Waste (Besides Recycling)

1. Invest In Some Good Tea Towels to Skip Paper Towels

Tea towels can do anything a paper towel can and more with the added benefit of being reusable. While there are plenty of colorful options with designs or embroidery, you don’t need anything fancy – plain linen or cotton will do the trick. Investing in a dozen or so tea towels can help you to massively cut back on the number of paper towels your family uses or even eliminate the need for them entirely. Considering tea towels can ring in at less than a dollar per towel, the potential savings in making the switch from disposable to reusable are tempting.

Tea towels are good for more than just drying dishes and wiping up messes, too. Check out some of these other practical uses for tea towels:

• Line shelves and drawers in the refrigerator or your cabinets to catch any drips, leaks, or grime from food packaging – just be sure to wash and change them out regularly!
• Wrap rinsed fresh produce for storage in the fridge. Your leafy greens will stay crisper longer!
• Cut down on how much aluminum foil or cling wrap you’re using when transporting food. Keep baked goods, rising dough, and food served in bowls or casserole dishes warm by wrapping or covering them with a dish towel.
• A folded tea towel is a decent stand in for a trivet. Place one down before you set any hot dishes on your counter or table to protect the surface beneath.
• While a pot holder is best for getting hot dishes out of the oven, a folded tea towel can still serve the same purpose in a pinch.

2. Opt For Reusable Over Disposable Products

The switch to reusable goods and kitchen products doesn’t start and end with tea towels. They make reusable versions of just about everything, now, from straws to sandwich bags, even reusable cling wrap and tea bags.

You’ll cut down on paper and plastic waste in a big way by switching to reusable grocery and produce bags, resealable containers, and silicone sandwich bags. Cutting down on the number of disposable baggies and boxes you go through can save you some serious money, too.

Here are some specific ideas:

• Have a pod coffee maker? A reusable cup and fresh grounds cuts down a big source of trash and will still net you a nice cup of coffee in the morning.
• Market bags or reusable grocery bags come in a wide variety of styles and colors. You can find insulated ones for your frozen goods and meats, and pick up cloth bags to store produce or bulk items while you shop.
• Reusable food storage can replace cling wrap. If the ones that look like shower caps aren’t serving you, they also make sustainable beeswax and cotton wraps and stretch-top silicone lids for food.
• Upcycle your old containers. Many containers can be cleaned up and used to hold something new. Make your own spice mixes and keep them in old spice jars – they’ll probably be cheaper if you make them yourself, anyway. Keep grains, preserves, and leftovers in old jam jars. Turn an empty coffee tin into an herb garden.

3. Aim For Less Packaging When Shopping

Picking products that have less packaging, in general, is also a big waste reducer . Sure, those individually wrapped packs of snack nuts are convenient, but boy do they produce a lot of trash.

Want some specific ideas?

• Buy the big containers of hand and dish soap and refill reusable bottles as needed. In the age of soap shortages, this is especially useful. You’re less likely to be caught with no soap at home and a cleaning supply aisle full of empty shelves at the store.
• Big tea drinker? Make the switch to loose leaf. Skip the tea bags. Buy loose and get yourself some reusable bags, glass jars, or a tea infuser. You may even find the process of tea brewing more enjoyable this way.
• Instead of buying pre-packaged and cling-wrapped vegetables and fruits, head over to the produce bulk bins and pick through what will probably be way fresher options.
• Buy in bulk when grocery shopping, but buy smart. Don’t just opt for the biggest bag every time, you may wind up wasting more in the long run. When you buy, reduce waste and go for bulk options when you know it won’t go bad before you’ve used it all. Soaps, cooking oils, certain condiments, and shelf-stable basic food staples like noodles, rice, and other grains are great bulk purchase options. Bulk milk, eggs, and other perishables may not be as wise a purchase.

4. Use Those Scraps!

You may be surprised by the number of things you’d ordinarily trash that you can still potentially use. Consider the following:

Make stock with scraps

By making your own stock, you save yourself money, cut down on packaging waste you may’ve generated using pre-packaged stocks, soup bases, or bouillon cubes, and you’ve taken control of how much salt you’re taking in.

New to stockmaking? Here’s a very basic how-to:

1. Start a scrap container or two in your freezer. Whenever you’ve got certain veggie scraps or bones, just toss them in the container until it fills up.
   • Ingredients: Veggie-wise, onion, celery, carrot, mushroom, garlic, and herb scraps are all great in stock. Leeks and parsnips are good additions, too. Just avoid starchy veggies like potatoes, and things that turn bitter when cooked for a long time, like zucchini and cucumbers. Chicken, beef, and pork bones are obvious choices for stock, but you can also make seafood stocks from shrimp, lobster, or crab shells.

a. When you’re ready to make your stock, dump your saved scraps in a big soup pot and cover them with water. Add some whole or ground pepper, salt, and any additional fresh additions like herbs, lemons, or wine.

b. Bring it to a boil and then immediately reduce it to a simmer. You don’t want this to boil the whole time!

c. Leave it to simmer partly covered for a few hours – around four. Occasionally stop by to check on it, skimming off the foam that’s bubbled up to the surface. It will reduce. The more reduced the stock is, the more concentrated the flavor – meaning you’ll need to cut it with water when using it later.

d. Remove large bones and vegetable pieces with a pair of tongs or slotted spoon, then strain the rest through a fine mesh sieve to catch anything else.

This is a very basic recipe to get you started on your stock-making journey. There are tons of fancier and more specific recipes out there that are absolutely worth trying! Homemade stock keeps in the refrigerator for a few days, but lasts four to six months when frozen. You can use it for soups, sauces, rice dishes, or even to spice up a standard pack of instant ramen.

Propagate your herb and veggie scraps

We could dedicate an entire article to all the different ways to regrow vegetables, herbs, and even some fruits from kitchen scraps, but we’ll keep this brief. Propagating your scraps will cut down on the amount of waste you produce, save you some money down the road, and give you the satisfaction of having grown something yourself. You can even add a bit more recycling to the mix. Use old food containers to grow things – instant coffee cups or egg cartons make good spots to grow seeds salvaged from peppers and tomatoes, and tins can hold herbs like basil and thyme.

Things like basil, celery, and carrots can be propagated first in water before being moved to soil. Onions and rosemary are even easier – a rosemary stem or the roots you cut off an onion can be stuck right in soil and should propagate on their own. You can even salvage seeds from fruits and certain veggies and try your hand at getting those to germinate.

Start Composting

Many of your food scraps and even some things like paper towel tubes and compostable wooden cleaning brushes can be added to a compost bin or heap and eventually turned into a nutrient rich mix for your garden.

You can add to your compost year round, even in winter. While waste in the kitchen likely won’t start turning to nutrient-rich fertilizer until the warmer months, it’s still okay to get started when it’s cool. Just be sure to research the kind of compost you’re hoping to make first – adding certain things will change the pH balance of the soil, making it more or less appropriate for specific plants. If you’re looking to make compost for veggies, you might want a different acidity than if you’re composting for a flowerbed.

If you don’t have the space to start a compost bin, yourself, you may still have some options. Check around your community, at farmer’s markets or community gardens! You may have a local composting program that takes scraps. Your city may even have a pick-up option, where they come to you.

Wrapping Up

There are countless benefits to reducing the amount of waste you produce. These four practical tips barely scratch the surface. There’s a whole lot more you can do, in the kitchen and out – like maintain your appliances and lawn equipment yourself. Whether you’re looking for cleaning tips or want to start fixing your own stuff, AppliancePartsPros.com is here to help. We’ve got tips, tutorials, and genuine replacement parts to get you on the road to doing-it-yourself. Check out our website for more advice from experts and DIYers just like you!