Re-purposing wooden ready meal trays

tboo

I have a few, in various sizes, of the Charlie Bigham wooden trays that hold their ready meals

e.g..

The following is off the website.

What do you do with Charlie Bigham wooden trays?

Can you recycle our packaging? Our cardboard sleeves and plastic film are both recyclable. Our wooden trays are suitable for the garden waste bin and compost heap. They aren't recyclable, but they do make great seed planters and serving trays!

The lasagne ones are not watertight as they have corner gaps due to the way they have been formed. The others are ok though.

Does anyone have any more suggestions for re-use?

Currently, I have been using them to hold the different ingredients when I cook. I don't have green fingers so gardening is off the cards.

maman

I reuse mushroom punnets which are similar. I have one in the fridge for small bottles and jars. In the dried foods cupboard for packets like microwave rice.

I have them in the hall drawer to hold gloves and my little umbrellas. In my underwear drawer (excuse pun) they hold rolled up knickers.

Then a stationery drawer in my desk for all sorts like rubber bands and staples etc.

HTH

tboo

Holding small stationery items and for dried packets are good ideas TY.

maisie_cat

I haven't bought them for a couple of years but at one point they were on special and I bought a few. If you carefully transfer the meal into a glass equivalent for heating the wooden tray is very useful for bits and bobs in drawers.
Otherwise they are useful for seed starting if you line them with newspaper to prevent compost spillage.

tboo

Not green-fingered but lining them with newspaper is a good one. TY. Alas, I don't read newspapers so don't have any.

I do, however, have brown paper packaging from deliveries (that I squirrelled away for wrapping Christmas gifts) I will use a bit to line the trays.

goldfinches

They look like Panibois baking baskets to me PANIBOIS - PANIBOIS, Baking in wooden molds so I should think that even if you don't want to use them yourself that others might love them.

I've never bothered to look closely at the Charlie Whatsit range before now so thankyou for letting me know that they may be worth more than a glance.

PS the UK distributor's site with prices is here Panibois - Tins, Trays & Cases - Baking - Baking Equipment (bakerybits.co.uk) and they are quite eye-watering so there's evidently money to be made.

tboo

They do look similar and using them for cakes etc is a very good idea TY.

Might show them to the M-I-L as she bakes more than me.

Maurice8

I have used them as kindling for a log fire (burning only well-seasoned wood and not in a smoke-restricted area, of course), and as shims for adjusting hinges and the like. Having recently seen that they are described as compostable, I am hoping to find someone's report of how long they take to rot.