Stay Inside, Stay Inspired #7 Protecting the Ocean starts in the kitchen, too. Surfrider Europe shows you how to reduce your impact on the environment from starter to dessert.
Starter : The impact of the kitchen and its products on the environment
Each year in France, an inhabitant produces 354 kg of household waste, according to calculations made by Ademe based on the tonnages of household bins (excluding green waste) collected by local authorities. While this waste is collected, others are not. Indeed, 10 million tons of waste end up each year in the largest dustbin of modern societies: the Ocean.
Beyond the pollution of waste, many products used in the kitchen, especially for its maintenance, are not filtered by the purification plant and end up polluting the water quality of the ocean.
Meal: How to reduce waste in the kitchen?
In order to take action and concretely change one’s consumption patterns in the kitchen, several alternatives can be considered. Making step-by-step gradual changes will help establish these new habits and avoid becoming overwhelmed or discouraged.
Plastic cling wrap or aluminium foil is a staple in the kitchen for storing leftovers or wrapping food to go. However, these two products are a major source of waste. Beeswax wraps made from beewax granduals and fabric (cotton or hemp) are a good alternative. These fabrics have many advantages. They are washable, reusable and compostable. The Bee wrap can be used as a container cover, but also as packaging for food such as fruit or sandwiches. As soon as it becomes less adherent, simply add more beeswax back on your wrap. Surfrider Europe explains how to create this product that can be used over and over again.
Maybe you have decided to eat more vegetables, but you don’t have compost and you don’t know what to do with all those peelings? It is possible to make good broths from your food scraps. Just set them aside and cook them with water and the condiments of your choice. Then let the juice cool down and strain it through a sieve. Pour it into ice cube trays so that the preparation takes the form of broth cubes. Finally, put everything in the freezer.
Dessert: More homemade yoghurt, less yoghurt pots
Every year in France, nearly 16 billion pots of yoghurt and other dairy products are consumed and massively fill our household garbage cans. The overwhelming majority of these, with the exception of glass jars, are not recyclable. Home-made yoghurts are equally delicious and when stored in a reusable container they can significantly reduce your waste!
For this, there is the yoghurt maker. You don’t have one? Don’t panic, there are other ways to make your yoghurts take on the image of a steamer, like steam cooking, or even a pressure cooker.
Every meal ends with the dishes
After eating well, reducing this waste and pollution of the ocean also happens when washing dishes. For this, the sponge can be replaced by a Tawashi. The average French person buys thousands of sponges in a lifetime. Waste from plastic sponges cannot be recycled and contributes to the pollution of the planet and sometimes ends up in the ocean. In order to reduce this waste at the source, Tawashi is proving to be a solution. This new generation sponge, made from old T-shirts, tights or socks, is more ecological and economical. Surfrider Europe shows you how to make your own with your old socks.
