Go Green in the Kitchen

Go Green in the Kitchen
Save energy & money with simple changes to your kitchen routine.

Drink cleaner water: Filter contaminants from your tap water with a water-filtering pitcher or a faucet-mounted filter system. This will save money over buying bottled water, and the pollution created to produce, ship, and dispose of all those plastic containers. These are some good brands; Brita, PUR and the Shaklee pitchers. Faucet-mounted filters are easy to install; they simply screw onto the faucet, and a valve lets you choose to bypass the filter (for example, when washing dishes).

Go Green Your Detergent: Automatic dishwashing detergents and dish soaps can contain phosphates that cause algae growth when released into local waterways, that in turn threatens marine life. Many detergents can also release chlorine into the dishwasher's steam and indoor air. Two known brands without these ingredients are Ecover Ecological Automatic Dishwasher Powder and Shaklee Dish Wash.

Recycle Food Scraps: Guilty I am of throwing food into the trash. This is a waste of valuable resources. You can turn coffee grounds, banana peels, and eggshells into a rich soil conditioner/fertilizer for your houseplants, lawn, and garden by composting them. Keep a small bucket with lid near your prep area to collect waste, then add the contents to a backyard compost bin. 

Pantry-Buy in Bulk: When shopping, avoid overly packaged and single-serving products and select large packages instead. Believe it or not it is cheaper. Skip plastic wrap and aluminum foil in favor of washable containers with lids for dividing bulk items.

Get with Renewable Resource Containers: Use Old-fashioned glass, ceramic, or stainless-steel for cooking, eating & storing food.  Many types of plastic can be recycled, however, they're all made from petroleum, a nonrenewable resource. 

So get busy, see what you can do to Go Green in your Kitchen.

• 
  
• Throwing food into the trash wastes a valuable resource. Turn your coffee grounds, banana peels, and eggshells into a rich soil conditioner for houseplants, lawn, and garden by composting them. Keep a small bucket or crock (white-enamel retro trash can, World Market, $14.99) near your prep area to collect waste, then add the contents to a backyard compost bin. If you're a serious gardener, compost indoors with an odor-free system, such as the NatureMill Automatic Composter (naturemill.com, $400). To learn more, visit epa.gov/compost.

• Throwing food into the trash wastes a valuable resource. Turn your coffee grounds, banana peels, and eggshells into a rich soil conditioner for houseplants, lawn, and garden by composting them. Keep a small bucket or crock (white-enamel retro trash can, World Market, $14.99) near your prep area to collect waste, then add the contents to a backyard compost bin. If you're a serious gardener, compost indoors with an odor-free system, such as the NatureMill Automatic Composter (naturemill.com, $400). To learn more, visit epa.gov/compost.

• Green Your Detergent

  Automatic dishwashing detergents and dish soaps can contain phosphates that, when released into local waterways, cause algae growth that threatens marine life. Many detergents also release chlorine into the dishwasher's steam and indoor air. Two brands without these ingredients are Ecover Ecological Automatic Dishwasher Powder (drugstore.com, $5.89) andShaklee Dish Wash (shown here, shaklee.com, $8.10).

• Green Your Detergent

  Automatic dishwashing detergents and dish soaps can contain phosphates that, when released into local waterways, cause algae growth that threatens marine life. Many detergents also release chlorine into the dishwasher's steam and indoor air. Two brands without these ingredients are Ecover Ecological Automatic Dishwasher Powder (drugstore.com, $5.89) andShaklee Dish Wash (shown here, shaklee.com, $8.10).

• Green Your Detergent

  Automatic dishwashing detergents and dish soaps can contain phosphates that, when released into local waterways, cause algae growth that threatens marine life. Many detergents also release chlorine into the dishwasher's steam and indoor air. Two brands without these ingredients are Ecover Ecological Automatic Dishwasher Powder (drugstore.com, $5.89) andShaklee Dish Wash (shown here, shaklee.com, $8.10).

• Work Your Dishwasher

  No need to feel guilty about running yourdishwasher; it actually uses less water than doing dishes by hand. Run it only when full and use the most efficient setting -- light rather than heavy wash and air dry instead of heat. Don't bother to pre-rinse before loading. Tests by the Consumers Union show that rinsing is unnecessary and wastes up to 20 gallons of water per load.