Released April 20, 2009
MANHATTAN, Kan. – True or false? Packaging materials account for 32 percent of the nation’s household waste.
The answer is true, and the statistic, from the Environmental Protection Agency, would seem reason enough to take stock and step up to reduce environmental waste, said Jennifer Wilson, Kansas State University Research and Extension county director in Riley County, Kan.
“Much of the waste comes from grocery packaging materials,” said Wilson, who has teamed with Virginia “Ginny” Barnard, Riley County Extension nutrition educator, to help the public learn more about reducing environmental waste.
To illustrate the issue, the two educators shopped for food products a typical family of any size might choose: a box of corn flakes; box of pre-packaged packets of instant oatmeal; bagged corn muffin mix; box of pre-packaged fruit snacks; noodles; and boxed macaroni and cheese mix.
A package of each was enough to fill the grocery sack, said Barnard, who reported that once back at the Extension office, they emptied the full grocery sack, opened the packages and dumped the actual food (contained within the packaging) into a separate sack.
“The full sack of groceries yielded about one-third of a sack of food,” Wilson said.
And, using the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s thrifty food plan to shop for a family of four, Barnard estimated an annual cost of about $600 for grocery packaging materials that end up in the trash.
“Reducing waste is an environmental issue; doing so also can reduce the health risks associated with processed foods, which often are high in sodium, and save money,” said Barnard, who offered this example: Mixing a comparable, homemade version of taco seasoning mix can yield the equivalent of six more costly pre-packaged mixes, and reduce the calories, carbohydrates and sodium (30 .6 mg per serving vs. 2,328.7 mg) per serving,” Barnard said.
Other environmentally-friendly shopping tips that also can offer health-promoting and/or cost-saving ideas from the family and consumer science Extension agents include:
- Invest in reusable grocery bags – and use them.
- Weigh cost vs. convenience. Compute the cost of buying six or eight individually wrapped 100-calorie snack packs compared with buying a box of crackers, measuring 100-calorie servings and placing them in reusable or disposable food-storage containers.
- Do it yourself: Cutting up vegetables, rather than buying cut celery, carrot or pepper strips, or grating cheese, rather than buying grated cheese, yields fresh flavor and a cost savings of up to 45 percent.
- Buy in bulk to reduce packaging and, if you or your family use the product within its use-by dates, to save on cost per serving.
- Opt for seasonal foods such as fruits and vegetables that typically cost less when peak supplies are available. Buying at local farmers’ markets often means shoppers will find fresh, locally grown produce.
- Choose products with less packaging, such as a waxed or cellophane bag, rather than a box of cereal, or refillable liquid hand soap or dishwashing detergent.
- Choose multi-purpose products, such as cleaners rather than a product for each job.
- Keep a running grocery list; buy what you need and use what you have.
- Cover and refrigerate perishable leftovers promptly, and, if leftovers cannot be used within a day or two, wrap, label, date and freeze for future meals.
- Invest in a reusable water bottle for each member of the household. In 2005, estimates suggest that 40 billion of the 50 billion plastic water bottles sold in the U.S. ended up in a landfill, said Wilson, who recommended checking with local recycling centers for a list of locally recycled packaging and other materials.
For more environmentally friendly, healthy and cost-saving food and food safety tips, check with the county or district K-State Research and Extension office. The offices are typically listed with other county offices in phone directories and can be located on the Internet by inserting your county name in the following Web address. An example would be http://www.riley.ksu.edu. Free information also is available on state Extension Web sites: http://www.ksre.ksu.edu; http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/humannutrition/; and http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/foodsafety/ .
Such sites include educational materials such as a “Month of Menus” developed by Lisa Martin, K-State Research and Extension Shawnee County nutrition educator. The recipe collection includes menu planning, food shopping, safety, storage and cooking tips and is available at http://www.shawnee.ksu.edu.
In teaching food and nutrition classes in Riley County, Barnard also likes to reference an Iowa State University Extension publication # 2035: “Healthy Meals in a Hurry,” which includes 14 main dish recipes, recipes for homemade mixes, food purchasing, storage, etc. The publication is available at http://www.extension.iastate.edu.
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http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/News/story/shop_green042009.aspx
Contacts: Jennifer Wilson, 785-537-6350, jrwilson@ksu.edu
Virginia “Ginny” Barnard, 785-537-6350, ginnyb@ksu.edu
Lisa Martin, 785-232-0062, ljmartin@ksu.edu
