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posted by Becky Striepe Feb 22, 2011 5:00 pm
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/5-ways-to-reduce-food-waste.html#ixzz1GU2M8aKL


1. Order and Cook Less

Whether you’re eating out or cooking at home, take a hard look at what you’re planning for your meals. Of course, you want to make sure you have enough food prepared for you and your family, but over ordering or cooking way too much just leads to waste. This might take some observation as you get a feel for how much you guys actually eat, but the reduction in waste is not only good for the planet, it’s good for your wallet!

It’s important to balance this out. You don’t want to feel guilted into the clean plate club. Remember: food you eat after you’re full is just as wasted as food you throw away.

2. Eat Those Leftovers

Whether you planned to have leftovers or accidentally ordered or cooked too much food, making sure you eat them before they go bad is key to reducing food waste. You can try revamping those leftovers into a whole new meal or just plan to eat them later on in the week on a night that you don’t feel like cooking. Either way, it’s important not to shove that leftover food into the back of the fridge to rot. If you don’t think you’ll be able to eat them before they go bad, why not portion that leftover food into servings and stick them in the freezer?

3. Cut the Packaging

You might not think of that take out container or the bag your pre-washed lettuce came in as food waste, but all of that packaging really adds up. Next time you’re ordering take out, see how the restaurant feels about you bringing it home in your own, clean, reusable container. At the grocery store, just being more conscious of packaging can make a big difference. Instead of pre-cut broccoli florets in a plastic bag, for example, you can pick up a head of broccoli and cut it up youself. Voila! You’ve dodged a bit of waste and probably saved a buck at the same time.

For something like broccoli, you can probably get away without using a produce bag, but for dry goods like beans or more delicate produce like lettuces, you do need some kind of bag. In those situations, why not try toting your own reusable produce bags?

4. Don’t Shop Hungry

This might seem like a no-brainer, but how many times have you bought far too much at the grocery store because you were shopping on an empty stomach? Hungry shopping leads to impulse buys, often of packaging-heavy, processed foods. Even if you just end up with way too many fruits and veggies, are you going to be able to eat all of that food before it spoils? A quickie snack before you head to the store can go a long way toward preventing waste in your kitchen.

5. Compost Your Food Scraps

One of the biggest problems with food waste is that all of that organic material breaks down into methane, a greenhouse gas many times more harmful than CO2, in the landfill. Rather than tossing veggie scraps into the trash, toss them into your compost bin where they can break down into nutrient-rich dirt.

Even apartment dwellers can get in on the composting action! You might think a small space would make composting too hard, but it’s easy as pie to get a bin going even in a tiny apartment. If you don’t have a garden to benefit from all of that good compost, you can use it to nourish potted plants or just dump it outside.



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