4 TIPS FOR LOW-WASTE GROCERY SHOPPING
- Avanti Adivarekar
- Jun 29, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 7, 2020
Go to the source
Think about the brands that you buy your current groceries from. Can you ask them if you can come straight to their manufacturing facility, to avoid any packaging? Going straight to the source, explaining your effort to reduce waste is usually taken very well. This has worked for me quite often. I bought soap directly from a soap-maker who made them at home. I’ve messaged brands on Instagram and e-mailed, and some have been happy to oblige me.
Bags and more bags
You can literally never have enough bags. Large bags, small bags, Produce bags, all kinds. Look for every single one you have in the house. You never know when it can come in handy. They don’t even have to look good, as long as they zip/have a closure. Some of my bags are made of old saris and cloth bags in which we have received gifts. Being sustainable is not about the aesthetic. It's about using what you already have because it serves a certain function.
Where you put your money makes a huge difference - choose zero waste groceries not only support local farmers and thus carbon footprint, but ensures you aren't getting unnecessary packaging home.
Buy in recyclable or compostable packaging
This is a hard one. Especially when shopping online. Say tomorrow you need oats - can you buy oats in wholesale (package free)? If you can’t, check if you can buy them in glass jars or cardboard containers. If you have to buy it in plastic, ensure you buy it in the largest quantity possible - this saves you multiple trips to the grocery and that much more packaging every time you run out.
If you have plastic packaging from atta, dals etc, keep them aside for the recycler. While buying package free is one aspect of sustainability, being responsible about what you already have is just as important.
Consider donating dal and atta packets to Aarohana EcoSocial. Aarohana also accepts those nasty little black plastic baggies that Amazon packages come in.
Plan your grocery trips
I cannot emphasize this more. At the beginning of every month or week, whenever you do your groceries, make a list not only of the items you need, but also where you can find them. Start meal planning. This way, when you step out of your house, you do all your groceries in 1 trip because you’ve planned in advance.
Need that jar of almond butter? Write down which store stocks it. Need bananas? Write down where you’ll find them, even if it is the sabziwala below your house. Need masalas? Write down when your closest low waste store is.
Then, when you’re ready, (make sure you’ve stocked up on those containers and bags), you can make the actual trip outside your house.
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