Day 62 of 365 Days Of Low Carbon Living: buying and storing bulk dry goods to avoid plastic food packaging.
In recent years more and more of our food is sold in plastic packaging.
With all that plastic is contributing to pollution and climate damage, avoiding it is a vital part of Plastic Free July and shifting to more sustainable, low carbon living.
We can’t all grow, forage or hunt for all our food…so buying food without packaging (like bread) or in bulk is the way to go.
Dry foods are great to buy in bulk. These are things like beans, peas, lentils, nuts, dried fruit and herbs, cereals and flours.
Where to buy in bulk to avoid plastic food packaging
The first thing to do is to find a place that sells food in bulk.
In recent decades in Australia, the main places to buy food in bulk have been:
- food cooperatives (‘food coops’)
- whole foods and health food shops
- speciality shops and stalls focussed on nuts and serving specific ethnic groups (e.g. Middle Eastern)
These shops often carry dry food to buy in bulk. It may be stored in a variety of ways including lidded bins and large jars and, sometimes, sacks (even plastic ones!) and open bins and boxes.
The health regulations and inspections covering storage vary from place to place.
More recently, we now see ‘bricks-and-mortar’ shops specifically set up to enable people to avoid buying pre-packaged dry foods. These are generally set up with neat rows of bins and dispensers to minimise contact with the food in the shop:
There’s another bonus with buying in bulk: you’ll generally be supporting small local businesses and groups.
How to buy in bulk to avoid plastic food packaging
The two best things about buying dry food in bulk are that you can:
- buy as much or as little as you want
- use your own containers – whatever you like (re-used, of course!)
When I buy only small amounts of a small number of goods, I avoid plastic food packaging by taking my own containers. These might be air-tight jars and plastic storage containers or re-used ‘single use’ plastic containers from takeaways or delicatessens. The latter have come into my home by various means and are great lightweight containers but they are not air- or water-tight and they can crack easily.
When I am buying larger quantities and travelling by foot or public transport but without my own shopping buggy (trolley), I tend to re-use clean plastic bags to reduce the weight and bulk I need to carry.
What?! You’re still using plastic for your bulk dry food purchases?!
You are probably wondering why I use plastic at all, given the focus of this post is on avoiding plastic.
Yes, the ultimate goal is to avoid plastic because of the damage caused by extraction of the raw materials (usually fossil gas or oil), manufacture and ‘disposal’. (There are also some people who are highly sensitive to chemicals and have to avoid plastic completely.)
However, the greatest problem is plastic that is only used once – and this applies to most plastic packaging used for food.
The key therefore is to avoid buying plastic food packaging in the first place – the so-called ‘single use’ plastic such as takeaway containers and plastic bags.
Aside from this, we can reduce plastic pollution by doing our best to re-use the plastic that has already come into our lives. Re-use is higher up the waste hierarchy than re-cycle. (More on this in a later post.)
On my most recent bulk shopping expedition, I used clean, re-used plastic bags to buy my dry beans and nuts.
Here are some kidney beans (Australian-grown!) loose inside the bag I used for them:
Remember to tie the top tight enough that the contents won’t spill – but loose enough that you can re-open the bag! You can also re-use twist-ties or plastic bread closure tags, but these will eventually break, wear out or become lost.
How to store bulk dried food
It is important to keep all dried food in airtight containers. This:
- reduces spoilage
- keeps out weevils and pantry moths
- isolates any weevils and pantry moths that come in the food, so that any that they don’t infest your whole kitchen
(Weevils and pantry moths are an unfortunate fact of life for any dry food. They usually come as minute eggs in the dry food whether it is pre-packaged or not – in fact, after hatching the weevils can eat through ‘single use’ plastic packaging! You can kill them by storing the food in the freezer for about a week. Because freezing is not always an option, air-tight storage is the key to avoiding an infestation. Trust me, a pantry moth or weevil infestation is a lot of hard work, wasted money and food.)
Which containers to use for storing bulk dried food
You can, of course, buy air-tight containers new – but that is adding more ‘stuff’, with all the damage that causes to our natural world. (It can also be expensive!)
That’s why I love re-using air-tight containers that are pre-loved or were used for packaging food. These include:
- tins with removable lids (e.g. those used for milk flavourings – make sure to carefully remove the foil liner from the top first)
- glass jars with lids with a button that pops up when first opened (e.g. those used for jams and pasta sauces)
- instant coffee jars (Moccona ones look good but are not stackable)
- preserving jars – easily available from places op shops and garage sales, though you may need to replace the rubber rings (available from kitchenware shops)
As well as being easy on our precious Earth and our pockets, these containers look great on shelves in kitchens with industrial or farmhouse decor.
Make sure that the container is clean and dry before use. It may take a while for the crevices of tins to dry out after you wash them.
Also ensure that the container is big enough to hold your bulk goods. If it is just a little too small, you can often make a little more room by settling the contents. Gently shake the container from side to side or bang it on a bench. Smaller food settles better than bigger food.
What my final dry food storage looks like
Here are some red lentils from my last purchase, in their new home for my kitchen:
When the food is in the container, put the lid on tightly and label the contents. Labelling is especially important for opaque containers like tins! If you know the ‘best before’ date, add that too.
On some of my containers I have added a recipe from a package (from before I found a bulk supplier).
Here is the final collection from my last bulk dry foods purchase – stored in their ‘new’ containers and ready to be put away:
The challenge
Make some of your next dry foods purchases in bulk, to avoid plastic food packaging. Prepare for the purchase:
- Find place(s) in your area that sell food in bulk
- Gather clean, dry containers for your purchases – and pop them in your shopping bag, ready to go
- Allow yourself extra time for your first shop. It will be a new experience and buying in bulk often takes a little longer than grabbing a packet as you walk down a supermarket aisle. (You also get to talk with people!)
Join me!
Any change or challenge is easier if you have company along the way.
So let’s embark on this journey together.
- Read my blog for ideas, thoughts and experiences for living a lower carbon lifestyle, more in harmony with nature – while also adapting to the consequences of our damaged climate.
- Subscribe to get posts direct to your inbox.
- Commit to taking action yourself.
- Add a comment to let me know you’re joining in the effort to turn around our world so it can remain liveable – and what your experiences are.
- Share with others my posts and what you’re doing – our efforts, progress, experiences and challenges – on Facebook, on Twitter, in conversations with friends, on talkback radio and in letters to the editor. Use #LowCarbonLiving hashtags on social media.
A problem shared is a problem halved. We’re all affected by the changes to our world so we need to be all in on the action!
Till next time…