Did you know that avocados are one of the only completely zero-waste fruits? Or rather, they can be if you know what to do with them. To help combat waste, the World Avocado Organization has provided ten ways you can use unwanted avocado stones.

1. Make Tea
Make your very own antioxidant tea. Avocado stones have a wealth of nutrients that are good for your body, so instead of tossing your stone into the bin, consider making your very own tea. Place two avocado stones, one teaspoon of ginger, one teaspoon of sugar and ¾ litre of water into a pan and bring to a boil. Once the water has turned a reddish colour, simply remove the stones, and you’re ready to drink!

2. Use As An Exfoliant
For a great skincare routine, exfoliants are key to a deep skin clean. Take a handful of avocado stones, soak them in water to soften them and cut them into pieces. Then, place them into a food processor or a pestle and mortar and reduce them to small grainy pieces. Take these pieces and mix in with your favourite scrub or body wash.

3. Use As A Compost
Avocado stones are full of great nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, and high potassium levels, which are beneficial to your plants and their soils.

This tip will help show you how you can help speed up that process. Like the exfoliant hack, take a handful of avocado stones, soak them in water to soften them and cut them into pieces. Then, place them into a food processor or a pestle and mortar and reduce them to small grainy pieces. These pieces can then be scattered into your compost bins or directly into your plants or soil in your garden.

4. Add To Your Breakfast
Avocado stones are full of goodness, including calcium, magnesium, and high levels of potassium, which are all great for the health and development of your body. Grind down your avocado stones or put them into a food processor and add them to your porridge or smoothies to get those extra nutrients in.

5. Create s Foot Massage Ball
Clean your avocado stone thoroughly and leave it in a sunny and warm spot to dry. Once dry, place it on the floor, with the arch of your foot over it, and simply roll your foot in a circular motion to relieve tension and pain in your foot.

6. Make Christmas Tree Ornaments
Take your clean and dry avocado stones, and using a drill with a small drill piece, drill a hole through the stone from top to bottom. Take lengths of red ribbons and cut them into 12-inch strips. Tie the ends of each piece together to create a loop and push the end without the knot through the stone, and there you go!

Top tip: Treat them with natural oil, or use acrylic paints to jazz up your avocado stones and make your decorations unique.

7. Create An Eco-Friendly Wind Charm
A cute addition to any garden, wind charms can be used to cast out negative energy and attract prosperity and good luck into your home.

Clean your avocado stone thoroughly and leave it in a warm spot to dry fully. Using a drill with a small drill bit, slowly drill holes through each stone. With either fishing wire or brown string, push it through the holes, making sure to tie knots on both just above and below the holes to keep the stones in place. Now you’re ready to hang! Find a nice spot, not too close to any easily knockable items and with good airflow.

8. Jewellery
Create your very own one-of-a-kind jewellery range. You can keep to the rustic look with a bare stone or create something quirkier by painting your stones.

Using a sharp needle and strong thread, thread your stones onto the threat at your desired length. Tie the two ends together, and ta-dah! You have yourself a one-of-a-kind necklace.

Top Tip: For something quirkier, use acrylic paint to paint your necklace and create something unique. You can also turn avocado stones into earrings by buying earring attachments online, pushing them into the avocado stones, and securing them with strong glue.

9. Make Natural Pink Dye
Make an eco-friendly, natural dye using your avocado scraps. Place your avocado stones and skins in a pot and cover them with water. Place on medium heat and allow to simmer. After a while, you will notice that the water will begin to turn a reddish colour. Take off the heat and remove the stones and skins. Once the liquid has cooled, you’re ready to dye!

10. Why not Grow Your Own Little Tree
The most obvious option is using the stone to grow an avocado plant. As many people realise, avocados can successfully be grown in cooler climates such as the UK. This could be your chance to harvest your own delicious food from your back garden or enjoy the feeling of adding another member to your houseplant collection.

Gently clean your avocado stone, making sure to note which end is the top (the pointier end) and which is the bottom (the flatter end). The top end needs to be kept dry, whilst the bottom end will need to be submerged in water. Push toothpicks into the stone around the circumference so it can be rested on the top of a glass or jar of water, making sure the water level is around halfway up the stone.

Now…the wait. It can take anywhere up to 8 weeks for the stone to sprout. Place it in a sunny location, such as a windowsill. The best time to start this process is around springtime, when daylight hours are beginning to increase. When you begin to get some roots, ensure they are always kept in water, as these cannot be allowed to dry out. Eventually, you’ll get a sprout at the top.

Once the sprout has grown to about 15cm high, cut the stem in half, throwing away the top half. This will encourage new and continuous growth. Once the sprout has got to 15cm high again, you’re ready to re-pot and enjoy your avocado tree.

Tip: Try and keep your tree in a warm room with access to direct sunlight.

So there you have it. Next time you whip up an avocado-based dish, don’t throw away your stone; keep it and use it again because recycling is the future of our planet. For more information, visit https://avocadofruitoflife.com/en.

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