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from Natural Life Magazine, March/April
2011 Greener Grocery Shopping
Grocery shopping can create a lot of waste. One study has estimated that
approximately thirteen percent of municipal solid waste is packaging material
from grocery store products. There a number of ways you can buy food and other
household supplies without creating such a huge eco footprint.
Buy in bulk. Many stores feature bulk food bins for items like pasta, rice,
nuts, flour, and other dried foods; some also sell liquids like cleaning
products and shampoo in bulk. If possible, take your own reusable containers.
Food buying clubs and co-ops are especially good for this. (An added bonus is
that bulk buying reduces the number of car trips you have to make to the store.)
Avoid individually packaged, single-use items. Buy the larger size packages and
then divide up the food at home in reusable containers for convenience.
If bulk buying is not possible, choosing the largest size package available will
save both packaging and money. Concentrated products also cut down on packaging.
Avoid unnecessary packaging. Look for reusable, recycled, and recyclable
packaging. (Make sure that the material is accepted by your local recycling
program.)
Bring your own reusable bags. Up to one trillion plastic bags are used every
year, worldwide. A single plastic bag can take up to a thousand years to
degrade. They are the second-most common type of ocean refuse, after cigarette
butts. Cloth bags are best because they can be easily washed.
In the produce aisle, bypass those clear plastic bags. Feather-weight reusable
mesh bags are increasingly available for produce that needs to be protected or
that you buy in quantity, such as loose pieces of fruit. Or carefully open those
plastic mesh bags that onions are sold in and reuse them. A head of lettuce or
bunch of carrots doesn’t need a bag at all, and can be put into a reusable
container at home.
Not cooking tonight? Bring your own reusable containers when ordering take-out
food. Just let the restaurant know when you order that you’ll be bringing in
your own containers and make sure you take enough of them.
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Grocery shopping can create a lot of waste. One study has estimated that
approximately thirteen percent of municipal solid waste is packaging material
from grocery store products. There a number of ways you can buy food and other
household supplies without creating such a huge eco footprint.
