10 tips to reduce waste grocery shopping
One of the best ways to reduce waste in the home is to be conscious of not letting it get into your home. We’re not suggesting you go and dump your garbage in a random dumpster down the road. Rather, we have some tips that will help you avoid unnecessary waste from the grocery store.
Before we get into it, it’s important to go over the 5 “R’s” of low-waste. You’ve heard of some of them, but maybe not all, and maybe not in the correct order. REFUSE, REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, and ROT in that specific order is the best method to reduce waste and help the planet. You’re going to hear about the 5 R’s a lot from us. Refuse what’s unnecessary, reduce where you have excess, reuse what you can, recycle what’s actually recyclable, and leave what’s left to rot.
Some of you might be surprised that recycling is the second to last on the list. Only about 9% of plastic gets recycled. This is due to many factors, but mostly that really only a few types of plastics are recyclable and that people don’t recycle properly. Plastic is also made from toxic chemicals, and certain toxins cannot be recycled (like BPA). During plastic production toxic chemicals are released into the air, causing pollution. Recycling plastic unfortunately does the same. Toxic chemicals are released into the air, polluting it. Recycling plastic is still better than producing all-new plastic because it keeps more plastic out of the ocean and landfills, but that’s why it’s the second to last “R.” The better solution is our first tip.
Refuse to buy things in plastic (when possible). Look for products that come in glass jars (best choice), then canned. Buy Adam’s peanut butter instead of one in a plastic jar, Bonne Maman’s chocolate hazelnut spread rather than Nutella, the mayonnaise from Trader Joe’s, and spaghetti sauce that comes in a glass jar instead of plastic. You’re going to need all those glass jars to store all the goods you buy in bulk with your reusable bags anyway :).
Buy your soda in aluminum cans that come in a cardboard box, rather than plastic bottles or cans with the 6-pack plastic rings. Aluminum cans and cardboard are recyclable so it is a better purchase than plastic. Some things may not have an alternative. And that’s okay. Just ask yourself if you really need it, and refuse it if you don’t.Shop at stores that allow you to fill your own bag or container. Reusable produce bags are so convenient and obviously much more durable than the thin plastic produce bags. No stem will tear through them :). They are great for both produce and refillable bulk products. We use ours all the time at stores like Winco and Hello!Bulk. Imagine all the plastic bags and containers that are saved when you use your refillable bags to buy things like pasta, flour, sugar, spices, cereal, nuts, seeds, oats, chocolate chips, candy, dog food, etc. The list goes on and on. You also get to control the amount you buy when shopping this way, which helps to reduce unnecessary waste and save you money. If you don’t have reusable produce bags you can make some out of old sheets or buy some through the links at the bottom of the page.
When buying produce, we often skip bagging altogether and just throw it in the cart. There’s nothing quite like seeing a single onion in a plastic bag. Just make sure to give your produce with edible peels a good scrub before eating (as you should anyway).This one is pretty obvious, but if you end up throwing a lot of food away at the end of the week, reduce the amount you are buying. This will save you money too. It’s so easy to look at all the yummy produce thinking you’ll make something great, but then the week gets busy and that lettuce or zucchini starts to sag and wilt. We’ve all done it. Be real with yourself. Meal plan before you go to the store. If you don’t have a recipe or a plan for it, refuse to buy it. If at the end of the week you do have some extra food, compost it. Or find a local neighbor with chickens and give it to them.
Look at how things are packaged, and go with the products with minimal packaging. Refuse the ones with extra, unnecessary packaging. Remember, you vote with your wallet. Bonus points because the products with less packaging are usually on the healthier side.
Buy items in bulk rather than individually wrapped/single serving size. For example, buy one bag of pretzels rather than a big bag holding 10 individually packed bags of pretzels. Just divide them out into single-serving size portions.
If pickup orders are how you shop, Wal-Mart is the only store we’re aware of that offers to skip bagging. They are not perfect at this, sometimes they slip in a plastic bag or two, but they’re getting there. Unless your local grocer offers to skip bagging too, go with them on your pickup order.
Refuse the receipt. Wal-Mart self-checkout offers to text yourself the receipt rather than print it. This is a great option, especially because if your receipt paper is shiny, it has BPA on it. And BPA is not our friend.
Shop at your local farmers’ markets as often as you can. Support your local farmers and don’t forget to bring your reusable bags! Summer is just around the corner and the local Salt Lake City downtown Farmers market starts June 3rd. There are smaller city ones as well.
Most states don’t need this reminder, Utah does, but please bring your reusable bags. We will go over plastic vs. paper vs. reusable someday. Our guess is that most people have some sort of reusable bag at home already. A lot of clothing stores give them out nowadays. Just use them. Please.
Cook from scratch when you can. Yes, we know you’re busy. Two full-time working parents? Single parents? Driving your kids to their extracurriculars from 3 to 9 pm? We see you. Don’t beat yourself up over this one, we know you are doing your best! But, for those who can, cooking from scratch usually produces less waste, saves money, and is healthier.
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