Food Waste Audit Diary May 2019

AnimalTribe

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

I dry citrus peel and use it as a firelighter - a bit of newspaper and orange peel is great for getting a fire going. I save it, drying on the range then storing in an old sweet-tin - it is great and leaves only ash (which I use in the garden)

Thanks Suffolk lass I'll remember that for next time I buy some oranges. Funnily enough, I've just been out to collect pine cones for the very same purpose. Next time I've got left over bread I'll try Timor's queen of puddings (I'm sure I'll find recipe quantities somewhere on the net).

AnimalTribe

I meant to say that the easiest vegetable waste to regrow is anything from the onion family. If you put any of the waste roots in compost, so the tops are level with the soil, they will grow. Spring onions grow the best, leeks require patience.

Jelllibeanz

I love this thread!!


It's made me think further on what we do throw away - which isn't that much tbh.


I know you will still count it, but we put our banana skins under the rose bushes in the garden. Apparently they are good for them? The roses that is!

mrsjanebanbury2009

Jack Monroe posted this recipe for orange "salt" last week, a way of using up citrus peel:
https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2019/05/06/orange-salt-free/
And this - chocolate brownies made from coffee grounds.

Can I throw a pineapple-shaped grenade into the thread? The thing about pineapples is not what to do with the peels but should we even be buying pineapples? The cost to the planet of getting fresh pineapples to our homes in the UK in the first place surely outweighs whether we then discard 1g or 100g of it? Genuinely interested in all your opinions on this - I love this thread!

Suffolk_lass

mrsjanebanbury2009 wrote: »

Jack Monroe posted this recipe for orange "salt" last week, a way of using up citrus peel:
https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2019/05/06/orange-salt-free/
And this - chocolate brownies made from coffee grounds.

Can I throw a pineapple-shaped grenade into the thread? The thing about pineapples is not what to do with the peels but should we even be buying pineapples? The cost to the planet of getting fresh pineapples to our homes in the UK in the first place surely outweighs whether we then discard 1g or 100g of it? Genuinely interested in all your opinions on this - I love this thread!

Actually, it depends on whether they come on a vessel or plane, and where from. Iceland uses heat from the earth's crust to be the biggest European producer of pineapples, for example, and is relatively close to Scotland.

A mega vessel (so called because the are nearly half a kilometre long and hold up to 19000 containers) is very low cost - it consumes very low resources, has few crew and is controlled to minimise its' impact on the environment by computer. Surprising really.

There is also the impact of trading with developing nations - so the idea is that through trade comes prosperity and stability for their economy, minimising the risk of conflict or people leaving to look for better opportunities... All through a few pineapples - well you get the idea. Personally I try to eat fruit grown in the UK but that is because it is lower in sugar and it has a similar impact on our economy (prosperity, I mean).

(Pet subject, moi? - sorry )

tighteningthebelt

More related links for anyone interested, very recent this time.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/food-waste-fund-4-million-awarded-to-cut-food-waste

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/slashing-food-waste-major-players-urged-to-step-up-to-the-plate

Today... Bit of an anomoly... Just me for breakfast, out for a healthy lunch of cake with a friend! 2 for tea but we had yesterday's leftovers (or the day before) (set-asides if you prefer) and dad brought pudding.
Ergo 40g of unavoidable food waste, in the form of a few grains of brown broccoli found within the good broccoli, 3 teabags, and the hard stalk of a courgette.
It'll never be that good ever again!

tighteningthebelt

THIRZAH wrote: »

Had to throw out DHS packed lunch yesterday. He forgot to take it to work and left it in the porch for some reason. When I found it it had been sitting in the sun for 5 hours!

Ahhh, memories... Finding a green and purified zip lock bag in my sons school rucksac at the END of the Easter holidays. Heave!

tighteningthebelt

themadvix wrote: »

Not necessarily... Some areas have reintroduced charges for garden/compostable waste disposal.

Thanks for the report TTB, that will make interesting reading. Presumably there'll be another one out soon as this one (2015) makes ref to one from 2012?

Yes, I pay for a garden waste bin. I informally share it with a neighbour. The instructions say no food waste though... Which I can understand, big but.... esp for the things you could have grown!

Re. The report, I'm not sure when another will be out. There was an academic talking about food waste at the end of April on BBC. I contacted him by email. He gave me the link. I haven't really read the gov.uk links I posted a minute ago, but at first glance I'd say those figures looked a bit iffy too, with the largest part of food waste being attributed to households. Will read and consider them properly over the weekend.

It seems to me that it really is impossible to measure on a larger scale with any accuracy.

Still interesting though.

tighteningthebelt

[QUOTE=mrsjanebanbury2009;75793718
Can I throw a pineapple-shaped grenade into the thread?[/QUOTE]

Throw any grenade you like! I love a debate.

Yes I agree, worse still is importing the food we could grow here.

I also agree with SuffolkLass

One is an environmental argument and one economical AFASICS. There's always a conflict there. Well nearly always. (I'm not feeling very decisive today!)

Jack Monroe, love her recipes, still use loads from her first book. She's made a massive, and largely practical, input on several fronts. Can't help but think it's prob a while since she's been doing anything on a bootstrap though (good for her!). Coffee ground brownies... Hmmm... Can try anything once!

tighteningthebelt

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

(Pet subject, moi? - sorry )

I always learn loads from your posts... Pineapples from Iceland... Who knew!