Co-op Owner and Shopper Tips for Plastic Free July!

The availability of bulk products at the Coop determines how well I am able to keep plastics to a minimum. Before the covid-19 restrictions, I brought jars, metal bowls with lids, and homemade fabric bags to get all of my herbs, spices, vinegar, beans, grains, oats, flours, nuts, peanut butter, almond butter, tofu, produce (including salad greens and mushrooms), dish soap, shampoo, and more. As I patiently await the return of these items, there are a number of things I can still do in my effort to keep my plastic consumption down.

Many people may think it is time-consuming and even daunting to say no to plastic, but its really just like any habit change – a little challenging at first, but quick and easy once you get some experience.

• Buy in glass: milk, ketchup, mustard, salsa, yogurt, olives, herbs, and spices, etc. This may mean branching out from favorite brands.
• Purchase nut/oat milks in cartons, not plastic or tetrapaks. The empty cartons can go in the city compost (remove plastic spout first), and are good containers for messy or smelly compost items, possibly stored in your freezer until garbage day.
• Make your own iced tea.
• If you drink seltzer water, consider investing in a Soda Stream.
• Make your own yogurt – easy and kind of magical
• Put those fruits and vegetables loose right in your cart. The clerks at the Coop are very respectful of your produce, and you’re going to wash it before eating anyway.
• If you must put produce in a bag (beans, mushrooms, etc.) use a paper or waxed bag. If the bag is not in good enough shape to reuse afterward, you can put it in your compost bin.
• Store leftovers in jars. A couple of corn cobs fit well in a half-gallon mason jar, which can be stored on its side in the refrigerator.
• Use bar soap, unwrapped, or wrapped in paper that you can recycle or compost.
• Consider toothpaste sold in aluminum tubes.
• Get dish and laundry detergents in cardboard boxes that can be recycled.
• To treat stains on clothing, consider a bar of Fels Naptha, or other stain treatment products available in bar form, packaged in paper.
• If you didn’t bring your shopping bags, put everything back in the cart and unload it into your trunk, where hopefully you have your bags and can use those, but if not, tough it out and deal with all of the items when you get home. 
• If you order take-out food from a restaurant, tell them you do not want utensils, napkins, packets of soy sauce, etc.
• At the Farmer’s Market, bring your own bags and juggle the produce into it, you don’t need a plastic bag for that one minute from the scale into your bag. You can also bring your plastic clamshells to reuse.
• Do you really need a plastic liner in your trash can? If you’re composting the wet food waste, probably not. Use the inevitable pouches so many foods come in to throw the occasional gross stuff out.

Have you ever brought home beautiful bunches of greens and herbs only to have them wilt away in your fridge?

Save your money and stop wasting food with simple storage tips!

For our complete A-Z produce storage guide click here.

Greens and Herbs:

Trim the stem ends, place in a jar of fresh water, and place the entire jar in the fridge.

This allows the veggies to re-hydrate and will stay fresh much longer this way.

Use this method for greens like kale and chard, fresh herbs like basil and cilantro, and even vegetables like asparagus!

Vegetables:

Most veggies store best in the fridge.

Storing in a plastic bag or within the crisper drawer in your fridge will help keep in moisture and prevent your veggies from getting soft and drying out.

Some veggies such as tomatoes, potatoes, garlic, onion, and hard squashes are actually best stored outside of the fridge in a cool, dry place. 

Tip: Vegetables should be stored away from fruit in order to prevent them from ripening too fast!

Fruit:

When it comes to fruit most varieties will keep fresh longest if stored in the fridge, but when it comes to ripening they ripen best outside of the fridge.

Berries, lemons, and apples will all last much longer if stored in the fridge whereas tropical fruits like bananas and mangoes store best on the counter top. 

Tip: Some fruits, such as apples and bananas, produce ethylene gas and can be used to help ripen other fruits!