As environmentalists and eco-friendly ordinary Joes no doubt already know, there are myriad ways to go green. Even mealtime at home can be made considerably more eco-friendly with relatively little effort.
· Stop handwashing dishes: People who dread having to hand wash their dishes after a nice meal have an ally in science. A study from researchers in Europe found that people who hand washed place settings for 12 people used more than six times as much water as a dishwasher doing the same amount. So instead of standing over a sink and washing dishes by hand each night, simply load up the dishwasher, making sure only to run it when it's full so even less water is wasted.
· Avoid the stove when possible: Empty nesters, couples without children or singles who want to save energy come mealtime can use toaster ovens in lieu of traditional stoves when preparing small meals. Toaster ovens consume one-third to one-half the amount of energy as conventional electric ovens when cooking small meals, making them a far more eco-friendly option.
· Shop with reusable shopping bags: Cooks know that great meals begin at the grocery store, so there's no reason why eco-friendly cooking cannot begin there as well. Plastic bags are used for an average of 12 minutes, even though their life expectancy is as high as 1,000 years. By relying on reusable cloth shopping bags instead of single-use plastic bags, shoppers can dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of cooking their own meals.
· Recycle materials: Glass jars, plastic butter tubs, milk cartons and other items necessary to prepare meals at home are all recyclable, so put them at the curb for weekly collection.
