The kitchen has long been the central hub of the home, dating back to the folk of Pomepii at least. We’ve added microwaves, oven gloves and teapots since then, but have enough of us taken the time to develop this room to fight the biggest challenge of today? The climate crisis demands answers here and now. Where better to start to respond to this threat than the kitchen? There are easy ways to adapt our kitchens to sustainable living, and here I’ve listed just five that you can action straight away. The planet, and your dinner guests, depend on us adapting our use of this space.
Buy Local
Kitchen appliances, furniture and utensils from abroad cost. Not necessarily a cost we notice in our bank accounts, but a cost to the environment. Brands like DM Design offer a solution. Their items are all manufactured in Scotland, meaning that those of us in the United Kingdom looking for new kitchen cupboards need look no further. Go one step further by ensuring that the items you buy for inside your cupboards – including cutlery and crockery – are also locally sourced.
Eat Plant-Based
Moving to plant-based eating is by far the biggest step you can take towards living more sustainably. While your dinner guests are admiring your new Scottish cupboards, you’ll need to cook some delicious food for them. Plant-based cooking is easy, with mass growth in this sector meaning there are more and more vegan food items on the market to buy, serve up and enjoy.
What You Bin Doin’?
I bin separating my rubbish properly. If you’re still putting everything in the one bin, it’s time for a new approach. Separate your general waste and recycling. Start a compost bin for those food scraps. Check your local council website for a full list of what can and can’t be recycled. Find local shops near you that will accept crisp packets. Take your carrier bags back to be recycled at the supermarket. Some food brands even offer pre-paid envelopes so you can send back their packaging for them to reuse. If it’s glass or grass, it doesn’t belong in the trash.
Think Reusable
We’ve become a throw-away society, creating unnecessary waste constantly. There’s no longer a need to go through a sponge a week or a pack of kitchen rolls a month. With washable sponges and reusable kitchen rolls on the market, it’s time to save money long term and stop chucking so much out.
Waste Not, Want Not
Food waste is one of the biggest contributors to climate change, in fact if food waste were a country it’d be the third greatest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world after China and the United States of America. To reduce the amount of food you throw away, check use-by dates at the point of purchase, put leftovers in a container for tomorrow’s lunch and learn how to use up your old veg in yummy recipes, e.g. putting your sad looking spinach leaves to good use in a delicious pesto dish.
These are just five ways to a more sustainable kitchen. There are plenty more to explore!
