The small green step – plastic bags from the store:

Bulk food is an excellent eco-option. Even if you use nothing but plastic bags to store your bulk food items in, you’re still coming out ahead eco-wise in my opinion. Most food items aren’t just packaged once, but two and three times. Consider oatmeal – you’ve got the box, plus little packages of oatmeal, so it’s twice packaged. Crackers often come packaged in a box, then also plastic bags or wraps on the inside. So, even though plastic bags suck, you may be doing better by buying bulk in plastic bags. It’s a small step.

You can make this small step even better if you always reuse your bags for your next trip to the bulk food section.

A bigger green step – refillable plastic containers:

If you want to take a bigger step, you can buy a decent set of lightweight containers and use them for buying bulk. At one co-op I frequented, they even had a list of typical container weights, so at the check out, you’d say, I brought my own container for shampoo, or cereal, and they’d deduct that weight from the cost.

Some might argue that buying plastic containers is a non-eco choice. However, if you’re using them to carry bulk food, I still think it’s a pretty good choice. A decent set of plastic containers will last forever, especially if all you’re doing is carrying bulk food around in them. Also, containers, over most bags, have the advantage of no leaks. Of course if you buy items like peanut butter and honey in bulk, you’ll have no choice – bags won’t be an option, plastic is one of the only choices. You can get glass containers, but you’ll need to know the pre-filled weight, and not drop them.

Biggest green steps – eco-bulk storage options:

Burlap bags can be used to store coffee, tea, pasta, beans, and more – anything not dusty (like flour). Although, I’ve used burlap baggies for herbs, and other small grains with no problem. It’s really going to depend on the burlap bags you own. Some have tighter fibers than others.

[burlap from Garb the World]

Kootsac re-usable bulk storage bags from Kootsac at Etsy are a really great option. These bags hold everything; spices, flour, beans, coffee, and more.  The bags are lightweight, strong, reusable, washable and fasten with a twist tie (although, I wouldn’t use a twist tie. Plus they come in tons of size choices. This is maybe the best option I’ve seen for bulk food.

About the twist ties:

Don’t use the twist ties from the store if you can help it. They’re a mess of materials usually, and while they’re small, a lot will add up. What I do is use stickers – just little paper stickers that you can toss in with your recycling. I use those tiny garage sale price-tag stickers; so one pack very well could last you the rest of your life.

Stay tuned for a few more eco-smart bulk food storage options…

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in June 2008

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

First things first though; why even mention bulk foods?:

This month we’re talking about reusable bags for grocery and other type store trips. You can save resources by going with reusable bags, but your main bags are only part of the issue. Tons of other food items come in bags, jars, plastic bottles, boxes, and other packaging, some of it not real easy to recycle. Buying from bulk food bins can save you money and save resources by eliminating packaging.

If bulk foods freak you out; get over it. Bulk foods are just the same as prepackaged foods, just not packaged. In fact, many organic options are available in bulk for far less than packaged organics, so bulk can also be less expensive and healthier because organic is void of icky stuff.

Some foods we buy in packaging that can be easily found in the bulk food bins include…

• Raisins
• Popcorn
• All types of flour
• Dried spices and herbs
• Baking extras like baking soda and cream of tarter
• Dry cereal
• Crackers
• Candy
• Chocolate chips
• Dried fruit
• Soup mixes
• Sauce and dip mixes
• Dried garlic
• Pancake mix
• Cake mixes
• Hot cocoa mix
• Granola
• Fruit snacks
• Dry pasta
• Dry milk
• Beans
• Rice
• Nuts

And much more. Many stores also have non-dry food items in bulk like peanut butter and honey. Most natural food stores and co-ops also have non-food items like hand soap, shampoo, and bubble bath in bulk (A good deal, but today we’re talking food, so that was just a heads up).

If you went into your kitchen right now, and added up all the foods you’ve recently bought packaged, that you could have bought in bulk, well, that’s a load of packaging. It makes sense to buy in bulk. Not all stores carry bulk. You’ll have better luck finding a decent bulk section at a co-op, natural food store, warehouse-type grocer, or a mainstream grocery store with a natural food section.

Next up: I’ll post about bulk food storage options – besides the little plastic bags offered at the store, and also what to do about the baggie twist ties – (they’re not recyclable).

If you’re brand new to bulk food items also read: Bulk Food Storage: Flour and Other Dry Basics

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in June 2008

[Image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family