Grocery shopping can be a great opportunity to try and reduce the amount of waste that you acquire. We know that buying local or organically-grown food is a more sustainable choice, but what else can help make your weekly shopping trip eco-friendly? With a bit of planning, the right tools and a little gumption, it's quite simple to avoid single-use plastics like plastic bags, excessive paper and plastic packaging, and other disposable items.
The Sustainable Shopping Kit
Here are some products that can help reduce waste from your grocery shopping.
1. Glass Mason Jars or Upcycled Glass Jars
Glass Mason jars are a versatile and attractive option for storing food, especially if shopping at a bulk foods store. They come in a range of sizes, are inexpensive and made of high-quality, non-toxic glass. You can also swap out lids, using canning lids when preserving foods or reusable plastic lids for freezing, refrigerating and storing dry food. The lids are BPA free and dishwasher safe. If you don't have a bulk food store nearby, consider contacting local suppliers directly and see if they will let you buy food before they package it. Similarly, you could talk to your local butcher, health food store or fruit and veggie store about using your own containers. More often than not, small business owners are happy to help.
Of course, you can start your own collection of glass jars from your pasta sauces, condiments, pastes and jams that you can wash and reuse again and again.
2. Bread Bags
If you have a favourite bakery or bagel stand at your local market, why not take a bread bag and fill up with baked treats? Often these are packed in plastic wrap, a paper bag and then again in a plastic bag, so you could save quite a bit of packaging with this simple idea. You can then store your bread, muffins or other baked goods in the bag for several days and it will keep fresh - our customers tell us that bread bags keep bread fresher for longer than paper bags! The bags are able to washed in the dishwasher, washing machine or by hand.
3. Produce Bags
The next helpful type of bag for grocery shopping is a produce bag - a versatile and eco-friendly option for all types of groceries, but especially fruit and veggies. They are made of light-weight fabric (like gauze or bamboo) of varying thickness, allowing produce to breathe. Fresh fruit and vegetables breathe at different rates - they are divided into 3 categories:
1. High breathers (store in mesh produce bags like Onya or a Veggie Saver bag): broccoli, brussels sprouts, peas & snow peas, spinach etc.
2. Medium breathers (store in mesh produce bags like Onya or a Veggie Saver bag): beans, cabbage, cauliflower, fresh herbs, fresh shallots, green onions, greens, leeks, lettuce, ripe apples, citrus, ripe pears, peppers.
3. Low breathers (store in solid bags like our 4MyEarth bags or a Veggie Saver bag): asparagus, beetroot, mushrooms, carrots, celery, cucumbers, turnips, zucchini, ripe berries, all other fruit not in the medium category.
Bonus Tip: Keep ethylene emitting produce separate from other produce to prevent over-ripening and premature spoilage. The top five producers of ehtylene gas are cantaloupes (rockmelon), apples, apricots, pears and avocados.
4. Beeswax Wraps
Beeswax wraps are fantastic for unpackaged cheese, small goods and other deli foods (though anything with a sauce or liquid is better in a small mason jar or glass container). They are also great for storing any of the food you bring home, in place of plastic cling wrap. Plastic can affect the flavour of cheese - another reason to look for package-free choices!
There are also vegan wax wraps for those wanting to avoid beeswax.
Here are some more tips from Biome guest blogger, Julie Orr, on how she tries to reduce the waste that comes into her life when grocery shopping.
- Plan a menu
- Bulk buy
- Enjoy markets and buy local
- Rethink your purchase
The best thing we can do to combat wasteful consumption is to carefully consider our purchase. Know exactly what you require and/or want. Supporting the people and the products that support our environment and use sustainable processes can be an incredibly rewarding experience. When there is a product that you need, consider the best way to source that product.
