January 17, 2008

Be More GREEN

You might have heard many people talking about "going green". The green concept is practicing and doing things that are more environmentally friendly. We have been talking a great deal about one green concept lately by eating more locally grown foods. Well there are many other ways to "go green" around our house and especially in the kitchen.

One of my biggest problems is the amount of plastic bags that I accumulate from shopping. While I try to reuse them for taking my lunch to work and as trash bags in my smaller trash cans, I still have a lot of them and ultimately they go into the garbage. There are a few stores that will take them back and recycle them, but many stores have stopped doing that because people were returning bags with garbage in them. So, to help reduce the amount of plastic bags I have, I am going to purchase some reusable canvas bags. Many of the area grocery stores are even selling them for a dollar.

The idea of the reusable bag is simple. When you go to the grocery store, bring your reusable bags with you. Ask the bagger to bag your groceries and other purchases in the bags you brought. When you get home, you don't have to worry about what to do with all the plastic bags. You just fold up your reusable bags and store them until the next time you go shopping.

A few colleagues from University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lancaster County, Alice Henneman and Lorene Bartos, have come up with a few other ideas for "going green" while grocery shopping.

1. Size matters. When choosing between a large container and several small containers that add up to the same volume: Consider whether buying the large container would serve the same purpose and save you money? For example, do you really need to buy individual boxes (and more packaging) of juice if they all are drunk in the same week and at your kitchen table?
2. Gotta have a plan! Plan ahead and shop less often for groceries or shop in conjunction with other errands taking you near a grocery store. The result is a reduction in the use and cost of fuel needed to transport food.
3. Practice the 3 Rs. Produce less waste AND save money by practicing the 3 Rs of reduce, reuse and recycle.
   
   Here are three examples in relation to throwing away leftover food. Not only does tossing leftovers waste money, it also wastes the energy resources and packaging materials associated with the tossed food.
   • Reduce the amount of leftover food tossed by serving smaller portions of foods that frequently produce leftovers OR ...
   • Reuse leftovers by serving them again in a day or two or freezing them for future use, OR ...
   • Recycle leftovers into a different type of meal; for example – add that extra rice to a soup the next night.
4. Don't be a "spoil"-sport. Throwing away spoiled food is related to tossing leftovers. Reduce the amount of spoiled food that gets tossed through such practices as:
   • Read labels for "use by," "expiration," or "best if used by" dates.
   • Refrigerate and freeze foods at recommended temperatures -- 0 degrees F or lower for freezers and 40 degrees F or lower for the refrigerator section. An appliance thermometer assures your refrigerator/freezer is maintaining these temperatures.
   • Follow recommended storage times for foods. For example, some containers may specify a recommended time frame in which to eat a food after it is opened.
   • Avoid buying so much food in bulk that it spoils before you can use it.
5. Drink to this. Buy a reusable water bottle and fill it with tap water. Your investment soon will pay for itself.
6. Bulk it up. Some products purchased at the grocery store, such as hand soap, can be purchased in big bottles that are used to refill a smaller bottle size. Reduce the cost and the packaging by refilling the smaller bottle.

Hope the next time you go to the store, you can be more GREEN!

Posted by Jennifer McCaffrey at 11:14 AM |