A simple, practical guide from Skrap serves as an introductory lesson on understanding kitchen waste and what it reveals about your everyday habits.
As part of Love Your Leftovers, the Local Food Club theme for November at, The Locavore collaborated with Skrap to bring LFC members a hands-on resource that demystifies what actually sits inside a household dustbin. A Mumbai-based environment sustainability firm, Skrap has long worked on waste segregation and zero-waste systems with an approach that is grounded in clear steps rather than overwhelming advice. This kitchen waste audit is one of their most accessible tools, walking you through simple steps: how to empty, sort, and record your daily waste so you can realise patterns you may not have noticed before.
The exercise is intentionally simple. With a bit of newspaper, a worksheet, and about 30 minutes to spare, anyone can sort their waste into basic categories like plastic, peels, paper, and metal, noting either the weight or frequency of each. The goal is not to judge your habits, but to understand them. A quick pie chart or tally can reveal which materials dominate your bin and where small changes might make a difference.
Let’s do a Kitchen Waste Audit!
Approximate time: 30 minutes, ideally on a weekend
What is a Kitchen Waste Audit?
It is an exercise that helps you understand the quantity and composition of waste your kitchen produces at a given time.
Why do a Waste Audit?
- To find out how much trash your kitchen generates on average.
- To help track your consumption patterns.
- To identify where you can reduce your waste.
What will you need?
- Daily kitchen waste tracked.
- Newspapers, to spread on the floor.
- Waste audit worksheet.
- Reusable gloves (if needed).
- Weighing scale (if available).
To make things fun!
- Turn up the music!
- Get a buddy to join you.
Let’s get started!
Step 1: Create your sorting station
Wear comfy clothes, get your newspapers and spread them on the floor. Wear your gloves and empty your trash onto the tarp.
Step 2: Begin sorting
Make categories for each category/ type of waste, e.g. plastic, peels, paper, metal, etc. Refer to the worksheet for different categories.
Step 3: Record your data
With this easy-to-use worksheet, start recording the quantity of waste as: Weight (you can use the weighing scale here) or frequency (use tally marks). Don’t forget to take photographs.
Step 4: Clean, pack, and store
Wash and store the dry waste. The reject waste should be kept in a separate bag for disposal. Remember to wash your hands.
Step 5: Understand your data
Create a rough pie chart based on your readings. Notice which categories contribute most to your household waste.
Step 6: Reflect and discuss
Think about what are some ways you can reduce your waste. List down some steps you can take.
Begin your no-waste kitchen audit with the worksheet here.
Skrap is an environmental sustainability firm that helps businesses and brands adopt sustainable practices and zero waste solutions. Know more about their work and approach to waste management here.
Dive deeper into November’s LFC theme, ‘Love Your Leftovers’ here.
Sign up to join the Local Food Club here, and get access to upcoming meetups and workshops.
