The zero-waste kitchen

In short

• The average household worldwide throws away roughly 74 kg of food per person a year. A homestead can bring that below 10 kg.
• The order: don't make a surplus → eat the leftovers → preserve → share → compost.
• Nothing from the kitchen goes to farm animals: only raw plant waste from the garden, before it enters the kitchen.
• Cooked leftovers: chill within 2 hours, eat within 3–4 days from the fridge and reheat once only, until boiling.
• Weigh your waste for 4 weeks: what gets measured gets reduced.

What's inside

Chapters

1. How much a kitchen throws away
2. The order: from surplus to compost
3. Step one: don't make a surplus
4. The whole food: what usually gets thrown away
5. Step two: dishes from leftovers
6. Leftovers safely: cooling, storing, reheating
7. Step three: preserve the surplus in time
8. Fat, water and ash
9. Packaging and containers
10. Steps four and five: share and compost
11. Measure it: the waste log
12. Common mistakes
13. Printable checklist

Worksheets

• Waste log
• Yearly waste calculator
• Surplus calendar
• Weekly leftovers planner
• Leftover labels