Don’t let the title scare you away. I did not dig through my town garbage and compost bins to make my family some soup. It’s much easier than that – I promise.

I’m proud to say our garbage consumption is small(we) than it use to be. Especially compared to the average households waste I see put out at the end of the driveways weekly or biweekly – depending on where you are. Our garbage bag limit here is 1 large clear bag a week. Clear so they can see what’s in there and 1 because why the hell not? Garbage is garbage. Can’t be reused or re-purposed or composted. In the landfill forever (just like Uncle Jessie’s song). When we first moved to town 2 years ago I thought this is crazy….1 bag!? in the city we had a limit to 3 weekly and even then i was cramming and stepping and throwing my body weight into those bags to condense them so I can fit more in. Today, we barely product 1 full kitchen garbage bag a week – not even the large bin bags! In fact, it takes us about 1.5 weeks to fill that kitchen garbage back – although sometimes I find myself throwing it outside and calling it full because the stench has gotten so bad.

Garbage aside our compost is a whole other story. Unlimited compost in our county – I thought awesome- I’ll compost the heck out of everything. Look at me go. Composting in weight what my husband Brandon says is equivalent to a dead body, it even has an accompanying smell to go with it. I felt so proud – that much less going to the landfill. But then I got thinking….. all this compost,can’t it be reused somehow? So one night when I put my 17 month old to bed I couldn’t sleep because all I could think about was the compost and how there must be ways I can get it to go father. So I started some research and very quickly a whole new world opened up to me.

In the spring, summer, fall and right up until frost hit we were composting our scraps in our backyard. I salvaged a compost bin off a job site that wasn’t being used.We located it in the garden off to the side so that in time when it broke down, we could easily use the soil in the garden and wouldn’t have to carry it far. By the end of gardening season I decided that next year I would at least double my garden so this meant I would have to relocate the compost come this spring – oh what fun – stay tuned or that adventure. Having that outdoor compost is helpful because we can make our waste go father and even help our garden and the worms will be happy. With winter here it became difficult to compost outside but next year no excuses.

So tell me Izabela, how do we make this scrap soup stock! To minimize your waste, have it go father, save you some money and even add extra flavour in your life simply put your vegetable and meat scraps (and anything else going bad) in the freezer. What?! yes you read that right. Get a freezer bag if you have them or a reusable freezer tupperware or glass jar (whatever your zero waste level comfort is at the moment) and put your vegetable scraps (carrot peels, garlic, shallot & onion ends AND skin, celery, mushrooms, green bean ends, leftover herbs etc.) in there and keep it in the freezer until it fills up and you have plenty. I suggest keeping your meat scraps in a separate vessel so that you have the flexibility of making various stock. Once you are ready, put the scraps in a large soup pot and fill the pot with water. The top of your scraps should be covered. Get a fresh onion, skin on, cut it in half and drop it in. High heat to a simmer, then drop it to low so it can simmer covered for about 1.5 hours-2 hours. Once the timer goes off you can strain the scraps and then compost them – you have successfully given your food scraps a second life and purpose. But wait! There’s more….. If you have a dog you can keep these compost scraps turned veggies stock scraps and put in a container for the dog to have with his meals – what a special treat! We’ve gone as far as adding barely, buckwheat, rice and various grains with the stock scraps and feed that to the dog – he loves it!

We make a lot of soups and meals (rice and grains for example I make with stock for extra flavour) with stock so this was a no brainer for me and I was excited to try it. One week of scraps filled a large freezer bag for me and I managed to get 20 cups of stock out of it. I froze them in 3 cup containers and once frozen threw them into freezer bags and back in the freezer so it takes up less space and I have the freezer containers for more recipes. You have to be good (and if you’re not you will) at Tetris. I will recycle the bags and Tupperware once their life is over – it’s what I’ve had for a while and wish to use it completely before purchasing a more sustainable option.

Zero waste isn’t about going to buy your solutions, even if they may not be your ideal solution at the moment. Use what you already have around you.

Izabela