What to do with contaminated flour?

GDB2222

I ordered a 16kg bag of flour from Amazon, but the seller didn’t pack it well enough. It arrived with the bag and package open and all sorts of dirt mixed in. The seller has refunded me but doesn’t want the flour back.  What is the best way to dispose of it? I thought of using it in the garden in some way, but I don’t want to attract vermin. Can anyone help please?

TELLIT01

Put it in the food waste bin if you have one.  It will take a few weeks to dispose of unless you catch the dustmen on their round and explain the situation.  They may take the entire bag off you.

GDB2222

No food waste collections here, unfortunately. Plus, we are having a problem with the bins, which I overfilled previously. So, I either have to sort out a sensible use for this flour or put pressure on the supplier to pick it up. Whilst I think they are an absolute PITA**, I have no wish to make their lives any harder than I need to. 

** They are a very large supplier to the catering trade, and they decided to branch out into supplying the public when their main business dried up. Only, they seem to have no idea what they are doing.  

FreeBear

Sprinkle it over the soil and rake in well. Try not to leave any large clumps. The particles of flour will be small enough that vermin won't be interested, and the worms will make the most of it.quickly pull it deeper in to the soil.

No bare soil, but have grass instead ?

Dust the lawn and let the worms do the work. The birds will come along and feed off the worms.

rach_k

You could offer it as 'play flour' on local Facebook groups with parents on them.  Just make it very clear that it'll need sieving (if it does!) and that it's for sensory play, making play dough etc rather than baking.  Normally I'd say send it to a school/nursery but things like that are unlikely to happen right now.  Depending on the front of your house, you could leave it out in ziplock bags for people to take some, or put it in a lidded box with a scoop for people to put into their own containers.  

Ectophile

My immediate thought would be a nice fat tube, a big cylinder of compressed air, a quick release valve, and a source of flame.

Finely powdered flour is surprisingly flammable, and if you get it just right, it's possible to create an impressive fireball.  Your neighbours might not be so happy, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tduy1zU0L-Q

silvercar

GDB2222 said:

** They are a very large supplier to the catering trade, and they decided to branch out into supplying the public when their main business dried up. Only, they seem to have no idea what they are doing.  

Offer it to the catering trade, they may be less fussy than you 

TomokoAdhami

I agree with rach_k. Instead of wasting it, you should give it to parents or even babysitting authorities. Yes, kids can play with this flour and use them for their DIY projects. I remember I have played with flour in childhood. 

NewShadow

Ectophile said:

My immediate thought would be a nice fat tube, a big cylinder of compressed air, a quick release valve, and a source of flame.

Finely powdered flour is surprisingly flammable, and if you get it just right, it's possible to create an impressive fireball.  Your neighbours might not be so happy, though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tduy1zU0L-Q

I heartily endorse this suggestion and point out that custard powder also works  

But can anyone reading this please remember to be careful... flour mills actively exploded/were demolished historically because of flour dust and exposed flames: https://youtu.be/WjyBCQoA8xw