Tag Archives: bulk bins

Bulk Bins for Earth Day

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I’m big on milestones. New Year’s for reflecting and prioritizing, spring for weeding and cleaning out clutter (both literally and metaphorically).

So with April being Earth Month, it seemed a good time to look for ways to move the needle a bit on the carbon footprint front. I’m trying to ride my bike into town more instead of hopping in the car. I just built a new compost bin (we’ll see if I can keep a few worms alive this time!). And I was psyched to get an e-mail from Ashley at the Bulk is Green Council reminding me how buying from the bulk bins significantly cuts down on packaging waste.

If you’ve ever been in a grocery store with me, you know how very much I love the bulk bins. The variety! The beauty! The BARGAINS! It can get a bit embarrassing. But really truly, the bulk bins are a treasure trove, and an easy, dare-I-say enjoyable way to shave a good bit off your eco-impact.

Did you know that if all Americans bought their almonds from the bulk bins (instead of in packages) for ONE WEEK, we would save 1,500,000 pounds of waste from the landfills?

If you’re intimidated by the bulk bins, I hear you. At first, I found it tedious filling up the bags and writing those little tags. But now I’ve got it down to a rhythm.

First, I’m careful to get just what I need, so I’m not overwhelmed with all sorts of random extras later. Then when I write the bulk bin number on the tag, I also write what, exactly, I’m putting in the bag, along with any cooking directions that come along with it. That way I don’t find a bag of sandy colored nubbins two months from now and wonder whether they’re couscous or bulgur, or get home with my barley and have to look up how much liquid to use and how long to cook it.

If you’re new to shopping the bulk bins, you may be surprised by the huge variety. You’ll likely find half the ingredients for this recipe–all the spices, the chickpeas, the dates–in the bulk bins, for instance.

Get adventurous this week and take a spin down the bulk aisle … you know it’s where I’ll be hanging out on Earth Day!

The Retro Beauty of Bulk Bins

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Bulk bins always evoke my childhood, when I’d accompany my mom to our local health-food store so she could stock up on brewer’s yeast and lecithin for the kooky energy drink she and my dad sipped every day. (Turns out, it wasn’t so kooky, but a nutritional powerhouse.) It was the ‘70s, so shabby macrame shoulder bags, Birkenstocks, and the carob malt balls I got as a treat loom large in my mind.

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But thanks to the stagnant economy over the last couple of years, I’ve renewed my acquaintance with bulk bins. It’s a trip down memory lane, yes, but things have changed. Yesteryear’s dusty, dim co-ops have evolved into clean, brightly lit–even chic–health-food supermarkets. I’ve even spotted bulk bins sprouting up a regular supermarkets. Along with everything else in the natural foods market, bulk bins have gone upscale, baby.

If you, like me, have tended to avoid the bulk bins, here are four good reasons to give them another try:

You’ll save money. That’s the biggest appeal for budget-conscious shoppers. The retailer saves money by purchasing in bulk, so you save too–up to 60%, according to the Bulk is Green Council. For example, quinoa flour–a notoriously pricey ingredient used in gluten-free baking–is $4.99 a pound in the bulk bins vs. $7 (or more) in its packaged form.

You can buy as much–or as little–as you like. This is my favorite feature of the bulk bins. I can load up on the stuff I use frequently–white whole wheat flour and various other grains–and buy less of items I only use occasionally. And it’s a low-risk way to try new-to-you ingredients.

There’s an amazing variety of stuff! It seems like something new turns up at the bulk bins every time I go to my local health-food store. There are bins of specialty flours (buckwheat, spelt, quinoa, and brown rice, to name a few), fun salts (Peruvian and Himalayan pink!), and groovy rices, like Indonesian Volcano, Madagascar Pink, and Bhutanese Red.

It’s more sustainable. Bulk bins mean less packaging, which translates into lower transportation costs. You can boost the sustainability by bringing reusable fine-mesh produce bags to tote your finds. I’ve used these for grains, like rice and pearled barley, as well as bulkier items like nuts.

I occasionally cast back to my bulk bin roots and wear my Birkenstocks to the store (don’t judge), but when I crave a treat I pick up a handful of real dark chocolate malt balls. Carob needs to stay in the ‘70s, dude.