According to the UN Environment, “Nearly 1/2 of all fruit and vegetables produced globally are wasted each year.” This occurs while the world is already under the pangs of global hunger where many continue to sleep with empty stomachs.
Considering the situation we’re in, the enormous food waste that the world produces needs to be tended to. The first step to this can start on an individual level where the entire household starts to properly dispose of their kitchen waste.
Steps like these tend to have a ripple effect, starting from a family then inspiring a cluster of families and finally, a whole suburb. To make a change, listed below are five tips to enable apt food and waste disposal.
Recycle waste into compost
The food we consume in our households often leaves the residue of outer coverings in the form of kitchen scraps, which has better use than going into a trash can.
Segregate your waste into green items like vegetable peels, coffee grounds, etc. and brown items like eggshells, paper, cardboard, etc. Then, make a compost site by either engineering a compost box with wood or buying a compost bin as it’s better to not keep the waste in the open.
Fill the compost box with a miscellany of green and brown items up to the brim. Now, make sure to stir up this mixture when it heats up. If it seems too dry, add water and some more green items.
It’s integral to take care of your compost as the more you do that, the faster you can use it as a fertilizer. This compost will be ready in 6-8 weeks, and will have a dark brown texture through which you can nourish your plants or your garden.
Adopt the wormy way
Vermi-composting is an inexpensive way to tackle your waste disposal, with minimum supplies and maximum benefits.
You need a compost box, which is wooden or plastic. Make bedding for the worms with shredded paper, old newspapers, etc. This bedding is necessary for the air to circulate and moisture to prevail, which makes it comfortable for the worms.
When the bedding is ready, add the kitchen scraps of 2-3 days and leave it to the worms. You can keep feeding the worms weekly to ensure a healthy turnover of vermicomposting. Use this economical compost to enrich the soil of your garden and make your home greener.
Feed the strays
Many stray animals like dogs, cats, and cows undergo starvation due to a lack of consistent food supply. If you have a lot of strays around your house, you can feed them with your kitchen scraps.
So, step up for the animals that you so lovingly pet and simultaneously, get rid of your garbage.
Before you lend a helping hand, do your research as to what part of the kitchen waste should be consumed by animals. Usually, your vegetable peelings and other such kitchen waste can be fed.
Take the aid of authorities to dispose of batteries
Batteries that you’ve used are to be disposed of with utmost care.
It’s easier to dispose of in the case of rechargeable batteries. Stores like Best Buy, Home Depot, etc. have bins at their entrances where you can easily drop off your rechargeable batteries.
One-time use batteries have to be stored up and you have to drop them off on a hazardous community waste day. You can also drop them off to recycling centers. It’s best not to dispose of non-biodegradable waste carelessly around your house.
Flush your cleaners
The best way to get rid of your household cleaners would be to give away to any freeloader friend of yours. But, if not that then you can put them down your drain.
First, you’ve to make sure that they’re water-soluble, and then only you should flush them out. Slowly drain out the cleaners and either recycle, or throw out the bottles carefully.
Conclusion
Food and waste disposal is an integral issue that the world is going through amidst other things. Therefore, it becomes our duty to dispose of waste responsibly, and help our planet. This is also a great way to nourish our plants!