Make it a habit to grab a few totes before leaving the house, or even better, keep a few reusable shopping bags in your car. Depending on where you live, if your store charges for plastic or paper bags, it might even save you some money.

Take advantage of the bulk bins for items like nuts, seeds, dried beans and legumes, rice, grains, and snacks. Even bulk bins of baking essentials like flour and sugar, olive oil, and spices are available in some stores. Using your own bags and shopping from the bulk bins go a long way toward reducing packaging waste.

Although it may seem obvious, packing the grocery cart with extra items can be tempting. Just buying what you need will save you money while also preventing food waste, so it’s a win-win situation.

A wise investment for your kitchen is stocking up on supplies like meal prep containers, Stasher bags, and reusable produce bags. The same applies to wax bee wrap, which can be applied like aluminium foil or plastic wrap. Although it will cost you money upfront, you’ll use far less aluminium foil, plastic wrap, and bags than you would otherwise.

Give used glass jars from products like jam, sauce, or nut butter a new purpose rather than throwing them in the recycling bin (after a good cleaning). Repurpose them as pots for fresh herbs, storage containers for items from bulk bins, or even homemade nut milk.

Don’t throw food scraps directly in the trash or compost, whether they are potato or apple peels, overripe fruit, wilted herbs, or stale tortillas. They still have some life in them, even though it doesn’t always seem that way. You just need to be inventive.

7. Stash Bags In The Freezer For Vegetable Peels, Meat Bones, And Parmesan Rinds.

You’ll almost always find these three items in my freezer. This also falls under the heading of not throwing away food scraps, but it is noteworthy in and of itself. Use the three of them for stock and broth while adding Parmesan rinds for flavour to sauces and soups. Keep the three items stored separately.

Consider switching to cloth napkins if you currently use paper towels or napkins. Cloth napkins have a way of instantly dressing up lunch and dinner and reducing the amount of waste thrown away each day.

When I switched to using microfiber cloths to clean the kitchen, I became aware of how many paper towels I used (and other house areas).

Consider switching to a reusable stainless steel straw if your morning routine includes an iced coffee or smoothie on the go rather than using a plastic (or paper!) straw. Why not join the many stores that are doing away with plastic?