Green your kitchen

Looking to be more eco-conscious? I asked Roderick Williams, chef at The Greenhouse Restaurant (1595 Eureka Road in Roseville), for tips on going green in the home kitchen:

“There are three top things that can be incorporated in a home kitchen without remodeling. One is using farmers’ markets and local purveyors; you can cut down on shopping time, support our local economy and use fruits, vegetables and meat from this area.

“Another is [cleaning] chemicals. It takes a bit of research, but there are a lot of good things out there that can replace standard chemicals. It’s a little easier in the home kitchen, because you don’t have to buy the industrial-strength cleaners restaurants use.

“Water conservation. A lot of times in restaurants, you have water running all the time for rinsing vegetables or whatever, and it’s just keeping on top of it, making sure we don’t have leaking faucets, reducing the number of dishwasher cycles we run. It doesn’t sound too exciting, but it’s just about creating that general awareness so there’s not a lot of waste going on.”