Being a terrible little hipster, I have spent quite a bit of time over the past three years thinking about ways to reduce the amount of waste I generate above all in the kitchen. But sometimes it is tricky to see if the DIY method actually accomplishes this goal. So what else to do than quantify the objects in question? Commence Project: Waste Measure.
My long hot-and-cold relationship to bread and its baking seemed like a good initial candidate; shout out to Budget Bytes for this easy recipe that seduced my slothlike nature. Simple ingredients, next to no work. I had been buying two to three loaves of basic bread at the Panishop (teehee) down the calle, spending two to three euros accordingly. Cheap, and just a waxed brown paper bag left over. But can we do better?
Before delving into the nitty gritty, I guess it is a good idea to set some standards. For this question, the packaging types lend to comparing square dimensions. But it would miss the point to just compare those numbers: I’ll consider the times necessary for the different waste components to decompose as well as their recyclability. I’ll estimate a cost comparison as well. However, the transport and other energy expended on each product before reaching me goes beyond the depth of research I care to perform, so I’ll also leave out the energy (electrical, labor, etc.) performed on my part too. And for you sticklers: this is not a controlled, highly precise investigation. Just a curious look!
Store-bought bread
- 1550 cm² waxed paper per loaf
- Decomp: compared to similar waxed milk cartons, estimated 3 months
- 0.90€ per loaf
Homemade bread
- Flour
- Package: 940 cm² heavy paper
- Four loaves per bag: 235 cm² per loaf
- Decomp: 1 month
- about 1€ per bag, 0.25€ per loaf
- Yeast (cardboard)
- Package: 340 cm² cardboard
- Ten loaves per bag: 34 cm² per loaf
- Decomp: 2 months
- 1.50€ per box, 0.15€ per loaf
- Yeast (foil)
- Package: 125 cm² foil
- Ten loaves per bag: 12.5 cm² per loaf
- Salt
- Package (1 kilo): 900 cm² plastic sheet
- 15 grams per loaf: 13.5 cm² per loaf
- Decomp: 10 years
- 0.50€ per bag, less than 1 cent per loaf
- Cornmeal
- Package (1 kilo): 900 cm² plastic sheet
- 15 grams per loaf: 13.5 cm² per loaf
- Decomp: 10 years
- 2.50€ per bag; less than 4 cents per loaf
Total packaging area per loaf: 308.5 cm² per loaf
Sooo one loaf of homemade bread takes about 20% of the amount of packaging as one store-bought loaf! I honestly didn’t expect that great a difference in that arena, given the variety of materials needed. But what about the other points of comparison?
The plastic packaging of the salt and cornmeal certainly outlives the wax paper of the bags, but because so little of these ingredients is used per loaf, perhaps it outweighs the cumulative square meters of Panishop bags. The price winner was also the homemade loaf, at 45 cents.
WINNER: HOMEMADE BREAD
Another Dirty Hipster 