Transform your food waste: save the planet, one crouton at a time

Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)

Ordering too much food at a restaurant when you’re hungry and then not finishing it is something we’ve all experienced. It causes plenty of food waste in landfills. What can we do to reduce the environmental damage caused?

Green compost

Hong Kong has launched food waste recycling bins across the city. Your unwanted food can undergo decomposition instead of heading to the landfills.

To find one near you, download the government’s Green$ mobile app. Use the map function to find the nearest food waste recycling bin.

You can recycle raw, cooked, unfinished or rotten food. However, food containers, liquids, leaves and flowers should not go in these bins. Try refrigerating or freezing food waste to keep it from getting too smelly.

Cooking with food scraps

It is surprisingly simple to turn food waste into other foods. Instead of throwing out bread crusts, chop them into cubes, toss them with olive oil and seasoning, and toast them. These crispy croutons are perfect for putting on salads or eating as a snack.

You can also use meat bones, usually discarded, to make a delicious, hearty bone broth. After you finish eating your chicken meat, toss the bones into a pot of water with carrots, celery, garlic and onion.

Once the broth boils, reduce the heat to low, and let it cook for 10 to 12 hours. Then, season and strain the soup.

With a bit of creativity, you can transform what would have been wasted into something delicious. Instead of immediately throwing food scraps away, these “remade” foods can taste just as good, if not better.

Air-fresheners

Before you dispose of your fruit peels, one helpful trick to eliminating the food waste is to make air-fresheners out of them.

Boiling them in hot water would create amazing, fruity aromas that freshen your home.

Orange and lemon peels are also great for repelling bugs.

Instead of buying expensive air-fresheners, this simple alternative cuts down on your spending while maintaining a fresh atmosphere at home.

Any fruit can be used for this as long as you enjoy its smell, and it is very easy to do this at home!

Use the puzzle below to test your knowledge of the vocabulary words in the story.

Suggested answers

• Before you read: Answers may vary (Food is a necessity for anyone, and it takes a lot of power and resources to grow and ship across the world, not to mention the plastic and other materials used in grocery stories. Food also rots in landfills, which produces methane.)

• Stop and think: You can use them to cook! Bones can be turned into a hearty bone broth, while bread crusts can turn into toasty croutons.

• Consider: You can compost the peels, or you can turn them into air-fresheners by boiling them.