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How Do I... Create a More Eco-Friendly Kitchen?
Going green in the kitchen is good for the members of your household and the environment – here's how
In this practical series, we ask experts to answer your burning home and design questions. Here, Andrew Mumford, managing director at Sub-Zero and Wolf Australia, reveals some smart ways you can be more eco-friendly in the kitchen.
Go natural
If you’re designing a kitchen from scratch or renovating an existing one, choose natural, sustainable, long-lasting and eco-friendly materials for your cabinetry, benchtops, finishes and lighting. Consider using the following materials:
If you’re designing a kitchen from scratch or renovating an existing one, choose natural, sustainable, long-lasting and eco-friendly materials for your cabinetry, benchtops, finishes and lighting. Consider using the following materials:
- Bamboo or FSC-certified timber.
- Natural stone.
- Recycled rubbers.
- Low- or no-VOC paints.
- Low-VOC cabinetry materials.
- Switch to energy-efficient LED lighting.
Set up a composting system
If you don’t have room for an outdoor composter, put a small closable bin on your benchtop where you can quickly and easily drop in food waste. You can make it look more attractive by choosing a stylish ceramic, metal or even a timber container.
If you don’t have room for an outdoor composter, put a small closable bin on your benchtop where you can quickly and easily drop in food waste. You can make it look more attractive by choosing a stylish ceramic, metal or even a timber container.
Grow your own
Rather than buying expensive and environmentally unfriendly plastic packets of herbs at the supermarket, grow them in pots on your window sill or in a vertical wall system – it’s cheap, easy and much kinder to the environment.
Rather than buying expensive and environmentally unfriendly plastic packets of herbs at the supermarket, grow them in pots on your window sill or in a vertical wall system – it’s cheap, easy and much kinder to the environment.
Introduce greenery
This will instantly make your kitchen feel more alive and connected to nature. Some indoor plants, such as the spider plant and aloe vera, will also help clean the air in your kitchen and reduce indoor air pollution.
This will instantly make your kitchen feel more alive and connected to nature. Some indoor plants, such as the spider plant and aloe vera, will also help clean the air in your kitchen and reduce indoor air pollution.
Be food-waste aware
The average Australian household throws out more than 200 kilograms of food waste a year. Here are some tips for reducing your home’s food waste:
The average Australian household throws out more than 200 kilograms of food waste a year. Here are some tips for reducing your home’s food waste:
- Set up a ‘triage’ box on the top shelf of your fridge with food the household should eat first.
- When you pack away the shopping, place older products at the front and use them before opening new ones.
- Cook from scratch rather than filling up your fridge and freezer with plastic-heavy, ready-made meals.
Tell us
What do you do at home to make your kitchen more eco-friendly? Share your tips in the Comments below. And remember to like, share or bookmark this story. Join the conversation.
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Find an appliance retailer near you
What do you do at home to make your kitchen more eco-friendly? Share your tips in the Comments below. And remember to like, share or bookmark this story. Join the conversation.
More
Find an appliance retailer near you
And it’s not as hard to achieve as it sounds. There are many things you can do to improve your kitchen’s eco cred; from little steps such as choosing to buy more local produce and setting up a recycling station, to bigger things such as replacing old inefficient appliances with new energy-efficient ones, and designing your kitchen with natural and recycled materials.