It can only be said to be a good thing that mindfulness of our consumer waste and of our fuel consumption has begun to sink in to our culture as a whole. Along with the recent naturalization of the phrase ‘carbon footprint’ (something rarely thought about before the term itself was coined), we have been stunned to learn of recent estimations of a 33% wastage of all un-bought and even uneaten supermarket food per day in the UK alone (estimably much worse than pre-refrigerator times).


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In this article, we’ll look at the different economical and eco-efficient options and innovations currently informing the design of fitted kitchens. As the kitchen is in many cases something of a waste hotspot in the home, the concentration is highly warranted. Though a relatively new focus in what we might call the development of the ‘mindful’ consumer, there are some interesting things happening to counteract the levels of waste in the modern kitchen today.

One advantage of a new fitted kitchen lies in your dictating how much cupboard space you will need to devote to food storage. With the development of a kind of simplified modern cooking technique, we are generally becoming more in-tune with what we do and do not need in our storage cupboards, and learning to develop a keen idea of our pantry closer to our fridge-less forebears. We are generally becoming better at knowing what we are likely to cook, as the new recipe books often indicate in their introductions.

Thinking also of appliance storage, we are gradually being deterred from stowing bulky, single-purpose devices, in favour of a more simplified core group of equipment, perhaps four or five multi-purpose machines catering for most of our cooking needs. Empty cupboard space exists to swallow unneeded preserves and unused appliances – in this way we waste first money on purchasing the equipment and then money and food on old faded packets of things at the far corners of the cupboards. In addressing these problems in the design of a fitted kitchen, you can do away with unnecessary banks of cupboards and utilize the space to suit better the amount you consume in your home.

We might call this innovation a change of attitude – in order not to waste one third of our supermarket shopping, we need to see the food we consume as just as perishable as it would have been in a larder or pantry. But there are significant things happening in kitchen design and its technology to indicate a focus on mindful and eco-conscious design from the structure and function of the kitchen itself. Recycled glass worktops, energy-saving kitchen lighting, and bespoke recycling storage units can all be integrated into the very design of modern fitted kitchens, showing that even in this most consumer-heavy part of the home, efforts are being taken to address, not to ignore, the inevitable problem of waste and inefficiency.

We have seen recently a steady increase in attention to ecological and environmental issues in the home, and finally it seems that the kitchen design area is receiving the boost it requires to meet the grade, and right across the board, too. With further innovative ideas underway, we could soon be doing even more to turn the tide on the 1/3 food waste, and consolidate our efforts for mindful consumerism in the kitchen for good.

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