The report’s findings may seem overwhelming, but there are a few things you can do on a personal level to make a difference. For example, you can plan ahead by freezing leftovers and reusing your food scraps before they end up in the compost bin. Additionally, you can keep a waste journal to track your efforts.
Freeze food
One of the most important ways to cut food waste is to freeze food. Frozen foods are ideal for keeping leftovers from meals for the future. They prevent uneaten food from spoiling and ending up in the bin. In addition, cooking only what you need means less food waste. According to a recent study, storing and freezing food effectively can save up to 47 percent of food waste compared to non-frozen food. What’s more, freezing food can be a healthy, delicious alternative to buying and cooking fresh.
Properly freezing foods will ensure that they keep their nutritional value for a long time. It also ensures that they are safe to consume. Some common foods that can be frozen are sauces and stocks, peppers and onions, flour, cheese, and nuts. Some of these can be frozen in blocks or grated forms to prolong their shelf life.
Food waste is a major problem in the US, with 80 billion pounds of food wasted every year. This has a significant impact on the environment. It is important to know when to freeze foods because freezing can extend their shelf life. Regardless of the type of food, it is important to remember that food will retain its nutrients and taste for longer if you freeze it before it reaches its expiration date.
Frozen foods have many benefits, including being convenient and portion controlled. They are also a great way to cut down on food waste. Educating consumers about frozen foods is another way to reduce food waste. It’s easy to use frozen food to save money and save space in the refrigerator.
Fortunately, most foods can be frozen and thawed. However, many high-water content foods will lose their nutritional value when frozen, but can still be used in your cooking. You can even freeze infant formula! While infant formula has a very short shelf life, it still retains a good taste and nutrition for a year.
Fortunately, the vast majority of food that is thrown away in our homes is safe to freeze. This prolongs the life of leftovers and allows people to use them when they are most convenient. Remember to label your containers so that you can easily identify what has expired. A written inventory can also be helpful. Many smart phones even have cameras that allow you to take pictures of your freezer’s contents.
Repurpose food scraps before they make it to the compost bin
Reusing food scraps can help save money and the environment. Food scraps can be used to grow plants, feed companion animals, and even make homemade beauty products. Food scraps can also be turned into compost that can be used to enrich soil or gardens. This method of food waste reduction helps the environment and the local community at the same time.
Many cities have compost pickup services to pick up organic yard waste. Composting these materials diverts organic matter from landfills, which reduces greenhouse gases and helps reduce trash. In addition, food scraps are useful to local farmers. If you’re a food waste-producing city, your community may even have regular pickup trucks for organic yard waste.
To compost food scraps, you can place them in a container on your countertop. It’s important to remember to take your food scraps out of the container daily. If you leave them on your countertop, they may attract fruit flies and other insects.
In addition to reducing food waste, food composting helps plants and soil retain water. It also improves soil pH and promotes healthier plants. The process of composting food scraps is nature’s closed-loop system, where the organic material from one cycle helps make new food for the next cycle. Using a composting system to repurpose food scraps can save up to $370 a year per person, which amounts to over $1850 per family of five.
Composting food scraps is a great way to reduce food waste in your home and local community. Approximately 20 percent of all trash is food. Composting food scraps helps reduce food waste in a clean way, and the finished compost can be used for landscaping or construction projects. It can also reduce the risk of erosion in the soil.