6 Ways To Make Your Kitchen More Eco-Friendly

How To Make Your Kitchen More Eco-Friendly

It is important to be eco-friendly, now more than ever. With the explosion in population growth, emissions from industry and vehicles, excessive plastic usage, not forgetting food waste, we are less eco-friendly than we’ve ever been. But if we all make small changes then the cumulative effect could be huge.

1. What makes an eco-friendly kitchen?

The first thing that makes a kitchen eco-friendly is what you do with your waste. What you do with your coffee grounds, eggshells, vegetable peel, and teabags is a big deal and can make you more in tune with planet-friendly goals. Using some kind of bucket or receptacle, scraps can be stored under the sink and a designated area can be used in your backyard. Over time the organic matter will break down and enable you to use it as homemade fertilizer which is very healthy for your trees, flowers, plants, and vegetables. Don’t let your waste go to waste! You can even purchase an indoor vermicomposting kit if you live in an apartment.

2. How does a modern refrigerator work?

Modern refrigerators have come a long way since the time when they were bulky, low-tech, and didn’t have various compartments and options. Modern refrigerators, by contract, are highly advanced, using minimal energy to deliver maximum coolness. It uses freon gas, a refrigerant, with a sophisticated interplay of piping in order to convert liquid into gas. Many modern refrigerators have the ability to function as an ice dispenser or water dispenser and will have a panel for pre-set temperature control, in which you can even change different areas of the internal area to different temperatures at different times. Smart refrigerators will even allow to operate it remotely, from your tablet or phone. A new Energy Star model refrigerator is likely to save you money in terms of your energy bill over time and can be as much as 60% more efficient than an older model.

3. How can food help?

Food is shockingly wasted, especially across the Western world, and it ought not to be. You can convert last night’s leftovers from a casserole or roast into a delicious salad using your best salad spinner, using bits of uneaten turkey or chicken combined with lettuce from your garden or grow box. You can even use the chicken carcass to make a delicious chicken broth, or a food processor to chop remains of steaks or pork chops, so as to use it in a stir-fry the very next day. Alternatively, you can bulk buy and over-prepare, cooking twice as much as you need but storing it neatly away in freezer bags, with dates and contents neatly labeled. Think about it; it can save you money, reduce waste, and reduce the number of meals that you need to prepare on a weekly basis.

4. Packaging!

The packaging is the bane of our eco existence, especially in this age of increasing deliveries, which although sparing us from making our own fossil fuel burning road trips, use up an exorbitant amount of cardboard, plastics and waste. When it comes to buying groceries, endeavor to buy from your local grocer where possible, always using non-plastic, reusable bags. Failing that, always buy big, ie. the largest jars, tins, or packets you can find. While seemingly counterintuitive, it is actually cost-effective and will result in less waste in the long run. Never buy plastic bottles, if you can avoid them. Buy glass or even aluminum; they’re far easier to break down and be recycled. Unlike plastic, glass can be reused indefinitely, whereas it is not safe to reuse most plastic bottles.

5. Faucet power!

If you have a slightly older faucet, consider changing it for one which only permits 0.35 gallons of water per minute. If every household in the US did this, it would save over half a billion dollars in water bills! Moreover, having a newer faucet means fewer leaks, while an Energy Star dishwasher combined with wiping dishes down rather than rinsing them before inserting, will save even more water. As for having more than one shower per day – really?! But at least showers are significantly more efficient than baths. If you can, avoid baths, or have them rarely.

6. Safety first

One final thing to mention is the importance of safety. There’s nothing worse than accidents and fires. They’re awful for the environment, leading to a lot of waste and of course potentially deadly for your loved ones. To avoid this, make sure you install carbon monoxide detectors around your house. This will drastically reduce the chance of a fuel-burning appliance, such as a stove or space heater, from emitting life-threatening fumes that could jeopardize human life. The detector fitted with an alarm should be inserted at a minimum of one meter from such appliances, be they cookers, boilers or fires.

Overall, if we all take some relatively small steps we should be able to make a giant leap for mankind. These steps aren’t difficult to take, but we all need to take them.

Sources:

1. Green Eco Tips for Sustainable Living – Global Stewards
2. How to Make Your Kitchen Eco-Friendly – Ethical Consumer