In Australia, more than 5 million tonnes of food ends up in landfills every year, which is why we created The Swag range of reusable, plastic free, fully compostable, vegetable storage bags. There are lots of great ways to reduce your food wastage using our Swag bags. Here are three strategies that are simple and easy to use at home.
1. Only buy what you need
If you plan your meals a week ahead, you will reduce food waste as you won't need to buy food that ends up in the bin, because it was unused, expired or became inedible. A good meal plan forces you to buy only what you need and can make use of leftovers, so nothing is wasted. Keeping your fruit and veggies fresh and crisp in the fridge is a breeze with The Swag Twin Pack (one of our reusable vegetable storage bags) - it was even Oprah’s favourite in her famous magazine ‘O The Oprah Magazine’! The Swag Twin Pack is available in two sizes, making it perfect for storing apples, herbs, lettuce, broccoli and lots more fruit and veggies, keeping them fresh, crisp and happy for weeks in the fridge! So even if you do buy a little too much (maybe because something was on special?), they will last for weeks in The Swag Twin Pack, reducing wastage.
2. Keep the food in your fridge ordered
It’s too easy to lose track of food in the fridge, resulting in mouldy, dry or wrinkled fruit and veggies that just end up in the waste. So why not use different shelves to keep food that needs to be eaten in the next few days separate from food that will last longer? One of the great features of The Swag reusable vegetable storage bags is that they are colour coded! This means you can select a colour for fruit and veggies that need to be eaten quickly and another for food that needs to be eaten by the end of the week. Since we have five different colours, you can also use the colour coding to keep each day’s fruit and veggies separate. Just grab the right bag for the day and you are good to go! For larger sized veggies, such as celery, spring onions, cabbages and cauliflowers, you can use The Swag Large, which is ideal for keeping larger produce fresh and crisp.
3. Freeze or dehydrate surplus fruit and veggies
What do you do with excess fruit and veggies? Some of you might have a fabulous veggie garden, others have neighbours who share their produce, and yet others buy in bulk from local markets. So if you have too much fresh produce on hand, don’t throw it in the bin! You can either share it with family and friends, or you can dehydrate or freeze it. Dehydrators aren’t expensive and can help your family to eat fresh produce out of season, save money, and reduce wastage. The Swag range of reusable vegetable storage bags are all made from 100% unbleached, unseeded cotton. They are non-toxic and chemical free, and are 100% sustainable and compostable. Just pop them in the washing machine and they are as good as new! Check out our full range of 100% natural Swag products and start reducing your food waste today!
