Tips on reducing kitchen waste

There won't be time for a recipe video this week - busy bee I am.

So instead a short, sharp blog on tips for reducing kitchen waste.

But first - a sermon.....

There be a zillion ideas out there in cyber space for recycling plastics in innovative ways; just take a look at the cover photo above, sent to me by a friend. A great idea for using up plastic milk bottles and growing indoor herbs, although I do have issues with that, for eventually it will still end up in land fill.

Personally I buy tetra pak as I use non-dairy milk products, but even that is not ideal despite tetra pak being listed as recyclable.

The trouble is that while upcycling plastic as per the plant trolley, and decycling (tetra paks aren't recycled; like many products they are broken down into lesser quality packaging - maybe 2-3 times - before they end up in landfill) plastic remains plastic and the energy used in recycling or decycling is huge.

Much better to use and recycle glass. So can some forward thinking company PLEASE produce non-dairy milks in glass bottles!

Sermon over.

While the 'having' to buy plastic remains (and it is currently impossible to run a non plastic kitchen no matter how hard you try) then at least let's ensure that the plastics we can't avoid bringing into our homes and our kitchens are re-used.

With this in mind -

TIP 1 - STOP THE USE OF SINGLE-USE PLASTIC IN YOUR HOME

Even if a bag is recyclable it can, and should, be re-used over and over again before it is sent for recycling - this ensures that the energy production for recyling is diminished (from the bin collection lorries right through to the recycle processing plant).

And when a bag is not recyclable let's use it until there is no choice left but to send to landfill.

Below are plastic bags that were the wrapping around products I bought (I had no choice if I wanted the item). One has been turned into an icing bag, another into a freezer bag for some left over mash, and yet another is now a lunch bag. Once used in this new way, I wash them dry them, and start all over again.

TOP 2 - STOP THROWING AWAY YOUR GLASS JARS AND BOTTLES

While it is applaudable to use and recycle glass, one must still consider the energy used in recycling and the plastic or plastic coated lids that often accompany a glass jar or bottle.

Below are bottles and jars with plastic and plastic coated lids that I've re-used for preserves: Rhubarb Cordial, Rhubarb in Syrup, Mandarin Vodka - (they've come straight out of the freezer as I get even more longevity by freezing them).

Of course, you don't have to make preserves or flavoured vodkas although why wouldn't you :-)

But re-using these jars for storage in some format is worth considering.

TIP 3 - DON'T THROW AWAY WINE!

Ha! If you have any left over (even left overs in the bottom of the wine glass) - freeze it!

Any dish that requires wine in my kitchen gets taken from the constantly replenished jar pictured below (I have a red and white wine jar).

Nearly everything can be frozen - from eggs to avocados and chillis to cheese.

Perhaps I'll produce a long list on what and how and why to freeze and what to do with the foodstuff once defrosted on another blog day.

Meanwhile, let's keep improving our SOS kitchen status, and don't forget to contact me via my websites, or twitter, or facebook. I'm always keen to hear your thoughts, ideas, and questions.