Keep in mind as you work through your zero waste journey that it’s about small steps and progress. Despite the title of this book, I don’t expect you to be 100 percent waste-free. Zero waste cooking may be 20 percent waste cooking some days and 5 percent waste cooking others. That’s okay! Nobody’s perfect. Every little effort counts, and the goal is to move in the right direction of reducing, reusing, and recycling more often. Just do your best!

I’m sure you’ve heard the jingle — reduce, reuse, recycle. These are considered the “Three Rs of sustainability.” Even if you’re busy, you can work on a few things to get started on the zero waste journey. The main goal of this book is not only to encourage you to waste less food but also to get you to think about your role in household sustainability.

I know you can do your best to make a few easy changes in the ways you shop, use, and cook food and ingredients. However, you can also follow a few easy steps to take beyond the kitchen. Start small and begin working on a few ways to reduce all waste in general. Soon you’ll find that using fewer single-use and more reusable items allows you to more easily manage a sustainable household.