It’s a common knowledge that U.S. generates tons of garbage daily. In fact, Americans throw away enough garbage every day to fill 63,000 garbage trucks, which if lined up end-to-end for an entire year would stretch half way to the moon.
Now, take a look into your trash can. If you mostly see food packaging and food scraps…not good.
There’s an easy fix to this, and it’s called a zero waste lifestyle. Today, I’ll share my tips on how to avoid this kind of garbage – and hence – reduce the amount of your trash that ends up in the landfill.
Zero Waste shopping requires some preparation and a little investment. You’ll need:
There are more than enough places in Philadelphia where you can shop Zero Waste, you just have to start making better choices.
1. First and foremost, go super local. The number of farmers markets in Philadelphia where you can shop package-free goods all year round is impressive so take advantage. You won’t need as much packaging and can pick and choose your fav veggies.
2. Ask to use your own containers behind the counters. For those who prefer convenient shopping in a grocery store, don’t panic! Fortunately, most of them have deli counters where you can request package-free meat, poultry and seafood (Don’t forget to give the cashier your empty jar beforehand so they can put it on the scale and zero it out, this way you aren’t spending the extra for the weight of the container).
3. The same goes for the produce: Just avoid packaged fruits and vegetables (use the muslin bags instead of plastic ones).
4. Buy pre-made items in glass containers like pasta sauces, salad dressings, pickles, peanut butter and jelly. You’ll have the peace of mind that no harmful chemicals will end up in your food and you can always recycle/upcycle them.
5. Shop in bulk: For rice, grains, flours, pasta, beans, cereals, nut butters, sweeteners, dried fruits, nuts, seeds and spices. Shopping in bulk is awesome because there’s much less packaging. Besides, it’s cheaper because you don’t pay for the popular labels and you can buy as much or as little as you want.
(Just bring those muslin bags.)
Zero Waste grocery shopping might sound too extreme and time-consuming at first. Trust me, it’s not! Everyone can get used to it. Just think about all the benefits it has for our beautiful planet and your personal health!
Readers, what zero waste tips do you have? Tell us in the comments.
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