7 Genius Ways You Can Do To Reduce Food Waste at Home

First, A Note About Food Waste

Wasting food is not only a bad practice but it’s not friendly for the environment. It also costs money for every homeowner. The average American family throws out about $1500 worth of food each year. Imagine the amount of money you are also putting in the trash, this is why we have to reduce food waste as much as possible.

It is estimated that approximately one-third of the food produced in the world is wasted each year. That’s a lot of food! And it’s not just a problem in developed countries – food waste is a global issue. There are many reasons why food is wasted, including production losses, poor storage, transportation infrastructure, and consumer behavior.

Wondering About Some Genius Ways to Use Food Waste Without Composting Them?

If you are questioning what to do with ripened fruits and vegetable scraps without composting them, consider the following options:

Waste to Energy:

This type of sustainable technology turns food waste into energy that can be used for electricity or heat. The process is done by breaking down the organic matter through fermentation, digestion, and other processes. This is a great way to reduce your environmental impact and potentially save money on your energy bill.

An example to avoid food waste and turn it into electricity is anaerobic digestion. The process involves breaking down food that’s biodegradable in the absence of oxygen. Pounds of food bacteria are utilized to produce methane gas and carbon dioxide that can generate electricity. Also, this process also helps treat sewerage sludges and biodegradable spoiled food. Technologies like these help community waste management and reduce waste from landfills.

Animal Feed:

You can also donate discarded food scraps to local farms where they will be used as animal feed. This is a great way to reduce waste and help out your local community. You can also donate your food scraps to local farms where they will be used as animal feed. This is a great way to reduce waste and help out your local community.

How do these food scraps become edible food for animals, like pigs, cows, and chickens? Some feed pellet producers also use waste that comes from food leftover, as long as they are biodegradable. Pig feed pellets come from grain, legumes, and bakery wastes. Producers also utilize feathers and eggshells to make poultry feed pellets.

These scraps frood may be processed into liquid feed that you can feed to fish and shrimp. The liquid feed may come from fish scales, fish heads, guts, shrimp heads, or shrimp shells.

Recycling:

Composting leftover food is a popular and old way to reuse and prevent food waste. However, when composting is not possible, you can be creative in the kitchen. Turn them into new products such as fertilizer or bioplastic.

To turn them into biodegradable plastic bags, grind your food scraps in a food processor until they become thick. Mix equal parts of cornstarch, water, and your ground fruits and veggies scraps. Add a few drops of vegetable oil or food coloring. Use a pipette or syringe to inject your mixture into the mold.

7 Easy-to-Follow Ways to Reduce Food Waste at Your Home

Reducing food waste at home can sometimes become a major problem considering some factors. So to give you an idea, here are seven simple, easy-to-implement ideas to help you reduce food waste in your kitchen and live more sustainably, from experts.

Store Your Food Properly

Proper storage can extend the shelf life of food, prevent food spoilage, help you save money and helps the food not go to waste, so it’s important to know how to store different types of foods. You will be using your fridge frequently as your food storage. Here are some tips for storing food correctly: 

• Fruits and vegetables should be stored in the fridge, in airtight containers or bags to last longer.

• Raw meat and poultry should be stored in the fridge, on the bottom shelf.

• Cooked meat and poultry can be stored in the fridge, in airtight containers, or in bags.

• Fish should be stored in the fridge, on the top shelf.

• Bread should be stored at room temperature, in a bread box, or in an airtight glass container.

Plan Your Meals

Take some time each week to plan out your meals for the upcoming days. This can help you use up ingredients before they go bad. You can check the expiration dates of the foods that you bought. It’s one of the simple ways for you to avoid throwing away food! In that way, you are reducing the amount of food waste you get every day because you have planned your meal. It’s never too late to start planning your meal. You can check some beginners guide for meal planning.

Use Leftovers

You can save your leftover food by creating a new recipe out of it! This is also a great way to avoid food waste. Get creative with leftovers and turn them into new meals. Whether it’s saving soup in the freezer or spicing up last night’s dinner with a stir-fry.

Compost

Composting is one of the easiest ways to reduce food waste and provide nutrients for your plants. There are many ways to compost, but the most common method is to create a compost pile or bin where organic material such as kitchen scraps, yard waste, and leaves can be added. The material will then break down over time, creating a rich compost that can be used in gardens and landscapes.

Composting is a simple way to combat food waste because it diverts organic material from the landfill, where it would decompose and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas, which helps reduce your contribution to carbon footprint. Composting also provides nutrients for plants, which can help them grow healthier and stronger.

Shop Wisely

Be mindful of what you buy in grocery stores and only purchase what you need. Save time and money by checking your kitchen cabinets before you go shopping. Make a list of what you need and stick to it. Buying only what you need will reduce food waste, save time and money, and make cooking easier because you’ll have fewer ingredients to keep track of.

Donate Excess Food

If you have extra food that you won’t be able to eat, consider donating it to a local food bank or soup kitchen. Donate to your local food rescue organization! They’re always looking for extra food, and you can do your part to reduce food waste by donating your excess unsellable items.

Educate Yourself and Others

Learn more about food waste and share what you’ve learned with others. Know more about the environmental impacts of foodwaste that affects you and our environment!

Why is Food Waste a Problem?

Food waste is a problem because it is a wasted resource. When food is wasted, it means that all of the resources that went into producing that food are also wasted. This includes water, land, labor, and energy. In addition, food waste contributes to climate change. When food rots in landfills, it emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, and this means a very big effect on plants.

Bottom Line: It’s Possible to Cut Down Food Waste with 7 Easy Tips

Food waste is a huge problem. 40% of the food produced in the United States is wasted, and that means a lot of resources are being wasted as well. There are a few easy ways to cut down on food waste. Meal planning, using leftovers, and composting are all great ways to reduce the amount of food that gets thrown away.

With a little effort, we can all make a difference in reducing food waste.