Do you have a secret trick?

Brie

@mandy47
I seem to have opened a very big can of worms....didn't realise what I was doing was so unusual.  And I shall rethink some of what I'm doing.  

I get that stems etc can't be sold as the item but neither will rotten food.  I would have thought it would balance out in the long run.  It would be great if the stores had a compost bin for this though I expect that it's considered easier just to put things in garbage.  

As for taking vine tomatoes off the vine - well they are sold loose and there's no obligation to buy everything that's on a particular vine.  The same as there's no obligation to buy an entire bunch of bananas. 

I would guess one solution would be to have no prepacked items - like was done in the past.  There would be less waste by consumers who have bought more than they need.  So that's me going back to finding a greengrocer rather than using a supermarket.  I've got 1 about 7 miles away but it's only open Fridays and Saturdays.

-taff

Your particular store might, but you couched the answer in terms of all supermarkets which have odd bits left [because I don't think there are that many people who do that] sending them to waste, as you put it, the 'alternative is to waste them'. The other option is to remove plstic waste from the equation and sell everything loose.

Rosa_Damascena

Siebrie said:

At work I have some cutlery and china in my drawer, because the supply at work is minimal and tends to disappear. This means that I have to wash them after use, but on our floor there is no hot water. I wash immediately after use to prevent staining and sticking, with a tooth brush I brought for this purpose!

I use toothbrushes (reserved for this purpose) to get my spiraliser / Fresh Express blades clean. It's brilliant for the fiddly bits!

Broccoli stalks are good for you and edible, same as cauliflower leaves so nothing needs to be wasted. I don't eat either because the smell whilst cooking is enough to put me off.

bouicca21

Broccoli and cauliflower stalks plus cauliflower leaves go into my soup pan. 

pelirocco

-taff said:

Why can't those items be given to a food bank/community fridge? Then there#s no waste. But I can guess why they aren't. No profit in it? Too difficult to administer?

Why should the shop lose money ? A business losing  money results in job losses
I know our local  food bank doesn't have the facility to handle fresh food

Bags of carrots are pretty cheap ,freeze or donate the extra...or don't you like losing money ?

JIL

Lidl sell £1.50 boxes of veg, just saying, if they can then why cant other supermarkets?

And I dont think there are many people who aren't aware of all the crops wasting in the fields because they are the wrong size or shape. Or there arent the workers to harvest them.

In the big scheme of things it's about thinking about the bigger picture and then it puts a couple of broccoli stalks into context a little.

Longwalker

bouicca21 said:

Broccoli and cauliflower stalks plus cauliflower leaves go into my soup pan. 

When I worked in veg production, we had a weekly order of 2 kg of broccoli florets , I used to bring the stems home for soup either for myself or a couple of friends. Was a sin to throw them 

YoungBlueEyes

I actually prefer broccoli stalks to the florets. They've got a creamy nutty sort of flavour to them. Yum!

My last but one dog thought they were delish too, but he'd eat them raw. The commoner.

Brie

Gardening time!!!!

Anyone starting their seedlings yet??  I know I should be getting on with it but will be away mid March so anything in the greenhouse will likely die in my absence.  

But for those that do want to get started - please don't buy the seedling kits that are sold in the shops!!  You know the ones with the large tray, lots of tiddly pots and a plastic greenhouse top.  Well maybe but maybe just for the top (which I agree is handy) but if possible get that separately.  

You can make compostable pots yourself - I know there's something about making them out of old newspaper should anyone actually still read things in the flesh as it were.  But easier is to save your paper towel & loo rolls.   

Cut a loo roll in half to form 2 cyclinders.  Make 4 cuts at one end about an inch deep.  Then you can fold the bits inward to form a small pot ready to be filled with compost/soil.

For a drip proof tray - go to the yoghurt aisle at your local supermarket.  Find the flat trays that hold yoghurt pots the same size or bigger than the pots you are using.  Steal them. (well I should say help the store recycle them as I don't want to get in trouble again)  Just ensure you get ones that don't have any splits in them or holes.  They will last you a few seasons.

If you need cloches or mini greenhouses - these can be made by recycling soda bottles (any brand will do!).  if you get 2 litre bottles of water (at Lidl for about 20p?) once you've used the water you can cut them in half.  This will make 2 cloches - one from the bottom and one from the top.  You can use them in your greenhouse/windowsill or out in the garden.  They'll help keep off late frosts from lately planted out items and also help keep off the dreaded slugs until the plant is a bit hardier.  The top end with the screw cap can be used with or without the cap depending on the heat of the garden and whether the plant needs to breath.  You may want to make a cut in the bottom cloche if that needs to breathe and you are really pushing the cut edge into the soil.

Back at the supermarket you may also find large flat plastic trays to use as a greenhouse top.

And fyi - I've always been open about taking the trays away when I'm shopping.  I did ask once and was given a blank look and a "whatever!" No one at the till has ever said anything about them being in my trolley.

YoungBlueEyes

Thanks for that Brie. I’ve screenshot your post so I can see it when I’m not on here (itms). 

I got some really tasty wee tomatoes the other week and I’ve kept 3 back for planting to see if I could grow more. I know they’ll not be just the very same but… 

So when I’m food shopping on Tuesday I’ll keep my eye out for yoghurt tray recycling opportunities 😁