How to Reduce Waste During COVID-19

Banner designed by Amy Oh

This semester, EthiCAL Apparel’s social good mission focuses on climate change and personal sustainability. Today, we will be discussing how to reduce food waste and specifically plastic waste during the current coronavirus outbreak.

In response to the public health crisis, many consumers have been panic buying toilet paper, groceries, and many single-use items like hand sanitizer, gloves, and masks. Especially when stores have less items in stock, it is important to reduce waste and use our resources carefully. Unfortunately, many of these single-use items will end up in landfill or on the ground as litter. Climate change and sustainability are just as important now as they were before the outbreak.

When grocery stores have limited stock and trips to the grocery store are limited, it is even more crucial to make food last as long as it can. More than a third of all food produced globally is not eaten, and Americans throw away about 133 billion pounds of food a year. This amount of waste is damaging to the many people who live without food security and the environment, as organic matter in landfills causes greenhouse gas emissions.

Here are some easy ways to reduce food waste:

1. Keep track of what you’ve bought and avoid over buying at the grocery store.
2. Freeze any food to avoid them going bad until you’re ready to eat them.
3. Cook with leftovers! Make soup out of vegetable scraps or use berries to make jam.
4. Use “ugly” fruits and vegetables to make smoothies.
5. Check out our last post about shopping locally in Berkeley! Shopping locally greatly reduces food that goes bad in transit.
6. Lastly, compost any food waste that you do have. You can call the City of Berkeley 311 (510–981–7270) to request recycling and/or compost collection services.

Eco-friendly alternatives for necessities amid COVID-19:

1. Toilet Paper

Unfortunately, these suppliers are currently sold out, but here are some plastic-free options that can be ordered online.

• Pure Planet: bamboo and sugarcane toilet paper that comes in a cardboard box with 36 rolls, 100% tree free
• Reel: 100% recycled bamboo, comes in a cardboard box with 24 rolls

2. Gloves

Opt out of single-use plastic gloves for reusable gloves, which can be washed and cleaned after each use.

• If You Care: biodegradable, fair trade rubber, Forest Stewardship Council certified

3. Hand Sanitizer

Instead of purchasing multiple plastic bottles, make your own hand sanitizer at home to refill your bottles and stay safe.

Although the current crisis may cause panic, there are still ways to do your part in protecting the environment. Reducing food and plastic waste are easy ways to save money and be sustainable in your daily life during Covid-19.

Author: Serena Lowe| Editors: Sarah Roberts & Amy Oh | Graphic: Amy Oh| Team: Social Good

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