Eco Holiday Tips: 5 Easy Ways to Reduce Food Waste

Today’s blog is brought to you by Emily, one of our environmental educators. Emily loves holiday treats (especially her grandma’s jell-o salad), but hates seeing good food go to waste. Keep reading to see how you can reduce the amount of food you throw away.

‘Tis the season for friends, fun, and food.  With all the festivities this time of year, it’s easy for us to be up to our eyeballs in pumpkin spice lattes, turkey sandwich leftovers, and sugar cookies from the grandkids. And with food comes food waste. This holiday season, give a gift to the environment by putting your trash can on a diet.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Americans throw away up to 40% of the food supply each year, valued at almost $390 per consumer in 2008. That means every year we’re throwing away enough food to constitute at least a month’s worth of groceries. Since food has become so convenient and readily available, many people wonder what the big deal is. What’s wrong with this picture? We are wasting resources – land and water to grow the food, money to purchase it, and time and energy to prepare the finished product. After unwanted food enters our trash cans, it makes a long, diesel-powered journey to the landfill (soon to be the landfull), where it rots, releasing harmful greenhouse gases. About 14.5% of our municipal solid waste is food waste. Fortunately, the solution is within our reach.

Now, before you go all Dr. Brown on us, let’s look at some simple steps you can take today.

  1. Serving size – As this World War II poster reminds us, taking more than we can eat is one of the most common reasons we dispose of food. It’s better to return for seconds than to throw usable food away. When eating out, asking for a take-out container (or bring your own) when your food arrives to help remind you to take home the leftovers. As you teach your children, friends, and family to be mindful of the helping they put on their plate, you are instilling healthy habits for them and the earth.Don't Waste Good Food

 

  1. Make a list and check it twice – Despite our best intentions, sometimes our food spoils. Planning ahead before you even get to the grocery store can help prevent that. For example, if you know you want to make a recipe using chicken stock, plan to cook another dish using chicken stock later that same week.
  1. Embrace the ugly – Picking through the produce piles is like a quest for the perfect fruit or vegetable. However, if a potato has an odd knob, or an onion has a conjoined twin, chances are it will taste exactly the same as its normative cousins, especially if you’re chopping it up. Now, we’re not condoning purchasing bruised or unfit for consumption. Rather, you’ll be giving a home to an otherwise discarded piece of perfectly good produce. Besides, it makes for a wonderful game of Rorschach Vegetables.

Ugly Fruit

  1. Love those leftovers – For some, leftovers are the gift that keeps on giving. Others, however, tire of the same meal for weeks. For inspiration on how to jazz up your leftovers, turn to the wonderful world of Pinterest. Maxed out on turkey sandwiches? Freeze your cooked turkey for up to 6 months and keep that tryptophan train runnin’ well into the spring.

Waste Free SD Tip: Choose reusable containers to store your leftovers instead of non-recyclable plastic resealable bags.

  1. Compost – You don’t have to have a lot of space to compost! Contrary to popular belief, apartment dwellers as well as homes with yard space can significantly reduce the amount of food waste that makes it to our landfills and in return, you’ll have a nutrient rich compost for your garden by spring! Click here to learn more and stay tuned for our blog series on composting, coming soon to a computer screen near you.

 

Turn your winter leftovers into nutrient-rich soil by Spring!

As with other eco-friendly actions, reducing food waste is all about our choices. Start today with a small commitment to take a step to decrease your food waste. It may take time to build these habits, but when we’re able to stretch the life of our landfill to accommodate our children and grandchildren, it will certainly be worth it.

 

To learn more, check out this video:

Take the Junk Out of Your Mail

Erika-teamToday’s blog comes from our Education Coordinator, Erika! We all have become accustom to separating out the junk mail from our mail box, but what if there was a solution to avoid this all together? What if that same solution could save you time, tax payer money AND the environment? Read more below about Erika’s 6 easy solutions to significantly reduce the amount of junk mail in your mailbox and your impact on the environment.

Over the past few months, I have worked to reduce the amount of waste I generate. This began when I learned that on average, each San Diegan will produce 5 lbs of trash per day and 2,000+ lbs of trash per person per year! I started with cutting out Trader Joe’s samples, disposable Starbucks cups, and zip lock bags. I thought I was doing a pretty good job, until I looked in my mailbox. It was full of junk (mail). So I decided to do something about it.

Are you frustrated with junk mail as much as Sheldon?
Are you frustrated with junk mail as much as Sheldon? Follow the steps below!

For starters, it’s interesting to learn how many of us receive junk mail every single day, but most people I know hate it! In addition to it being an inconvenience, a lesser known fact is that it negatively impacts our environment. According to an EPA report, in 2001, more than 4 million tons of junk mail are shipped annually, and it is estimated that 50% of that mail ends up in our landfills.

 

MSW graph
Currently, paper and paperboard account for 27.4% of waste disposed. While a large percentage of that is recycled, paper is still one of the largest components in our landfills . Talk about a waste!

If the environmental impact doesn’t convince you to unsubscribe, consider your wallet. Reducing junk mail saves you money. The Postal Service offers lower prices for bulk mailings, so in essence, our standard postage subsidizes junk mail. Additionally, taxpayers pay for the cost of disposal, which amounts to $370,000,000 a year.

Last year, I received a catalog out of the blue. I had never shopped at the particular store and actually had never heard of it before, so I was surprised to see my name located in the address field. My curiosity led me to call the company to find out if I had unknowingly signed up for this their catalog. After a pleasant conversation with the woman, I learned that they bought my name from a mailing list. That got me thinking about how many other companies have my name and address.

Here is your go-to guide on how to reduce your impact on the environment and your wallet by refusing junk mail:

• Register on the National Do Not Mail List
• To cancel credit and insurance offers click here!
• Cancel unwanted catalogs here
• Unsubscribe from ValPack
• Sign up to receive your favorite grocery store’s e-coupons online and cancel your direct mail coupons here
• Call the businesses and organizations that sent you the junk mail and request that take you off their list

These simple steps will significantly reduce the amount of junk mail you receive and thus, the amount of waste you produce. For other excess mail, check out our Junk Mail board on Pinterest and see what you can create!

The ILACSD staff always enjoy a good laugh. Check out this Saturday Night Live spoof about junk mail. Enjoy!

SNL junk mail PSA