The Whitman Green Team’s Monthly “Down-to-Earth” Blog Post:
Here are quick low-food waste and composting 101 guides for those interested in reducing the amount of food they waste!
Did you know that in 2022, it’s estimated that 33% of food was wasted and sent to the landfill? That’s 78 million tons of food. Meanwhile, more than 44 million Americans face hunger every day. There are ways we can prevent food waste from happening in the first place or redirect unavoidable food scraps to solutions like composting!
Tips to prevent food waste:
Before heading to the grocery store, take an inventory of food you already have. This will help you gauge what foods you tend to consume more quickly than others, so you can avoid buying items that never get eaten.- Try to plan your meals for the week so you buy just what you need.
- Remember, buying huge containers in bulk is not a savings if most of it goes to waste!
- Properly store produce in your fridge and store leftovers in tightly sealed containers.
- Freeze anything before it goes bad so you can eat it later.
- Remember, you can use leftover veggie scraps to make veggie stock for soup or save bruised berries for a smoothie! One tip I have is to throw the whole strawberry into the smoothie, including the green leafy parts!
- Use wilted greens by throwing them into a pesto or green dressing.
- Read up on the difference between “Best By” “Sell by” and “Use by” labels here.
Composting 101:
Step 1: Set up a container, paper bag, or anything to hold food scraps while you cook. Some people purchase a metal tin, but even an old takeout container works fine.- Step 2: Here is a quick list of what can and cannot be thrown into your scrap bin:
- Greens: coffee grounds, eggshells, fruits, vegetables, tea bags
- Browns: Leaves, twigs, papers (uncoated)
- Do not throw in dairy products, oils, meat/fish
- Step 3: If you have limited space, make room in your freezer to store your food scraps for the week.
- Step 4: Set up or build an outdoor bin (if you have the space), or check out if your town/municipality has a food scrap drop-off.
- Step 5: Collect twigs and leaves in your yard or start saving newspaper and small cardboard pieces to put at the bottom of your compost bin.
- Step 6: Build your pile and mix as needed to prevent odor and to aerate the mix. Aim to have 3-4 parts brown to 1 part greens.
- Step 7: Keep maintaining your pile and watch as your scraps slowly turn into compost!
- Step 8: After 8-12 weeks, harvest finished compost.
- Step 9: Apply to garden beds or on top of potted plant soil to give your produce and plants an added boost!
Written by:
Jaclyn DiDonato
Environmental Sustainability Associate
Posted on June 5, 2024
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