Making Your Kitchen a Low Waste Zone

Visitors come to 'g' to green their kitchens from the bottom-up. Whether its a big remodeling project or as small as picking up compostable garbage bags, we have everything to make your kitchen as green as can be. But even in the greenest kitchens, there is a lot of waste that we don't even think about! From using rolls and rolls of paper towels every month to not composting OR not recycling (eek!) to leaving the water on, all these environmental faux-pas can make your supposedly green kitchen into a high waste zone, negating all the good you've done! That's why we've come up with these simple tips to help you create a leaner, greener kitchen!

The amount of waste you put out is not an easy thing to control. The easiest way to consolidate and reduce waste is to have a system for separating all your different kinds of waste: a compost container, recycle bins for your metals, plastics, glass, paper and cardboard, and a smaller container for your nonrecyclable items. Most trash today is recyclable so hopefully your recycle bins will be much fuller than your trash can.

City dwellers may not think of composting as an easy reality. However, many cities have community gardens that would happily welcome donations of compost from your kitchen, if you don't want to become a member yourself. Otherwise, consider getting in touch with vendors at your local farmer's market to see if they take compost at their farms. Who knows maybe you could get some free goodies out of it!

Buying in bulk can also help reduce waste: less packaging and larger containers. So hit up your local Costco, Sam's Club, BJ's or other wholesale retailer to stock up on household items and non-perishables that you use regularly.

Eliminating disposable items such as any paper towels, plates and napkins or plastic cups and utensils can really help in reducing waste output. Come into 'g' to find reusable, light weight, travel-ready utensils and kitchenware made from bamboo, potato, and BPA-free plastics.

Water waste is probably the most difficult to regulate. The easiest way to reduce water use is to install low-flow faucets and high efficiency dishwashers. However if you aren't ready to replace appliances, you can start with more creative options like installing a dish-dryer above your window planter--you clean plates, they water your plants. It saves water and saves you a chore!

Other simple ways to reduce your kitchen waste are the no-brainers that we all seem to forget:

- Don't open the fridge until you know what you're getting out! You can make this simple for yourself by creating a storage plan for your fridge -- you'll always know where things will be located and won't have to rummage around looking for the mayo.

- Give up bottled water. Using a glass or stainless steel container for your water saves money and should heavily reduce your plastic output. Get a Brita filter for your tap or fridge and you'll get the same clean water without the waste.


- Pick up that hand-held egg beater that you got as a hand-me-down from your aunt's kitchen: it doesn't use electricity and its an arm work out!

Have more ideas for how to make a waste-free kitchen? We want to hear them! Email us at info@ggreendesign.com or tweet us @ggreendesign!