7 simple things to replace in the kitchen to reduce waste

Zero Waste – less kitchen waste with a few smart choices.

With a few simple changes, you can easily reduce the amount of waste that ends up in the bin.
Here, we share tips on making some smart swaps that can be truly beneficial both financially and for the environment.

Do you pay by the kilogram for your waste? Many people do, and with these small “sacrifices,” you can quickly see the results in the form of lower waste-management costs.

Just think how wonderful it is that, as individuals, we can make a few small, simple changes and make such a big difference.

Here are our 7 tips for things to swap

1. Swap plastic bags for reusable bags. Get a sturdy cloth bag made from reused materials for all your shopping.
   It takes quite a while for a newly produced cloth bag to “pay for itself” environmentally, but it is a completely different matter when you buy a bag made from 100% reused materials.
2. Plastic wrap – swap it for beeswax wraps. Plastic wrap does not account for a large share of the weight of your waste, but over the course of a year, quite a lot of plastic wrap is used, and plastic wrap is truly a disposable item. Get a couple of beeswax wraps in different sizes and you will notice how much you save.
3. Swap your dishcloth for a washable version. A dishcloth made from Swedish-grown linen and produced in Sweden is a good environmental choice. The cloth can be washed almost indefinitely, and it is actually locally grown and locally produced, which is always a good environmental choice.
4. Swap your lunch box for one made of stainless steel or glass. This will save you a lot of waste. Imagine a stack of five lunch boxes and then multiply that stack by 48 working weeks …. oh my … that is a lot of plastic you can avoid using.
5. Tea bags – swap them for a stainless-steel tea infuser. This may seem like a small detail, but wow, it adds up over an entire year. Replace your tea bags with organic loose-leaf tea and a stainless-steel tea infuser, and you have made another saving.
6. Swap coffee filters for a metal filter. This is a significant amount of weight you can save—coffee grounds are heavy, and if you do not have the option of composting, they are a “major culprit” in the bin.
7. Join a REKO ring. Search in your Facebook app. Find a local REKO ring and start buying directly from your local farmers. Cities often offer this option too, and you know what—this is absolutely fantastic! You place your order on Facebook, meet up (REKO rings have designated pickup locations and days/times), pay (often via Swish), and receive your locally produced ingredients. We can promise that they are good for the environment; they are also rarely packaged in lots of plastic, AND when you buy goods through a REKO ring, you tend to handle them better and reduce food waste.