Forum Topic

New Food Boxes

I now have 2 Food Boxes, the first one from a couple of years ago, still unused, and the recent rinky dink one that arrived on Thursday.I find the idea of filling these boxes with any left over food utterly repugnant, besides there is no real need in my case, I eat all my food, don't buy lots of vegetables that go off quickly, I use frozen.I would much rather have a compost bin.

John Pollastrini ● 5904d22 Comments

It is worth changing your behaviour with these to match the weather.

Philippa Bond ● 3703d

It is pretty revolting but I made the problem much more bearable by wrapping everything in newspaper first. If you line them with paper too, they stay much fresher.

Felicity Georghiades ● 3704d

What a disgusting sight this morning to see the mess in some of the food bins which had been left out for collection!I feel sorry for the AMEY employee having to tip the food scraps into a large blue wheelie bin. The small of rotting food, would make one feel nauseous.Bins were not lined or the food wrapped so the empty bins were covered in flies!Surely this is a health hazard? Are people too lazy to dispose of food scraps properly?  Can you imagine having to empty these things?It was a relief when I looked inside my own food bin to see it was very clean, I will then wash it out with Dettol ready for the next time.Please spare a thought on how to dispose of food scraps properly.

Jean F Fernandez ● 3708d

Re: The tins, I must say that all the tins this happened on were the one's I had purchased from NETTO pure nightmare of a shop. What I don't understand is when I was on a holiday a few years back in Tenerife there was a Netto there and it was spotless and enjoyable to buy food in, also much better quality of food, why does Acton always have to get the sh**ty end of the stick?

John Pollastrini ● 5898d

Yes, I've heard from the States of freezing working well until dustbin day with prawn heads and tails. I think I'd wrap in a sheet of newspaper then bag/box.  Could be devastating to find them on a hungry night though!I'm surprised by your tins though John.  Don't forget there is a big difference between Best Before or Best Before End (BBE) of a month and Use By dates. This is being reviewed.  It may be that BBE dates ill be abolished because of the confusion they cause. Eggs are the exception (LOL) where probably just since the salmonella scare there have been different guidelines.  (See Food Standards Agency website www.eatwell.gov.uk for the official line.)

Philippa Bond ● 5900d

Yeah, I have another solution if something like meat is going off, and I have space. I wrap it in plastic bag and put it in the freezer, works as long as I remember it is in the freezer.

John Pollastrini ● 5901d

I must say I was not very keen on the idea of food boxes, ours were just delivered this week, but I must say I am coming round to the idea!I wrap leftovers in newspaper, my usual kitchen pedal doesn't smell of food etc. My leftovers are kept outside, fortunately we also have a side entrance which is ideal.I just put small amounts in an ice cream carton (instead of the small bin) it takes up less room.So far so good.....

Jean F Fernandez ● 5901d

I used to use the large one for washing certain items of clothing that couldn't go in the machine. I don't have much waste as I buy only what I can eat. One strange thing I noticed this year though, was that I always thought stuff in tins lasted 'forever', however I have noticed many cans with use by dates on them, and if I go over the date the food inside has started to decompose, I have only noticed it with fruit in tins i.e. pears and pineapple chunks. I just wondered if anyone else had noticed this,I can understand if you have a large family or a 'social life' then you might have some food waste.

John Pollastrini ● 5901d

Really?  I'll check on our bags again. I recycle as well as I can, and there are never rubbish bags on the street here - the bin men collect from garden dustbins. The see-through recycling bags are so much better than all those boxes and bags that blow around in other boroughs, and are never out before 9 in the evening for early morn collection.

Becky Bell ● 5902d

"soy milk cartons" Becky?  The ones I've used are recyclable with the orange juice cartons, soup cartons etc.  H&F and LBE & LB Hounslow now collect them in the kerbside recycling.

Philippa Bond ● 5902d

We have quite a lot of food waste - but looking at it, things like onion skins, corn cobs and chicken legs can't go down the sink gobbler and (my)life is too short for composting, so I find the food boxes great. But my goodness the quantity of all the recycling goes up - especially the plastics in the white bag and the bottles in the green box - at this time of year when my home becomes a doss house for itinerant teens.

Sara Nathan ● 5902d

'Sad'?! Not to waste food? I eat healthily and sometimes feed friends and family, so don't be so rude! I never buy take-aways, don't buy much convenience food, so have very little packaging. I'm vegetarian so no chicken bones or other smelly animal waste. I'm not daft enough to have 'gone off' food in the fridge - I don't buy what I don't intend to use and I like my food very fresh. There is absolutely never any food left on a plate here - why make/take too much? I'm quite disgusted by the general greed and waste. I could live without supermarkets.My only 'waste' is minimal amounts of carrot peelings, a few stalks, a few teabags - barely a cereal carton's worth a week and could be composted, so certainly not enough to warrant a big stinking box. I have a small, carrier-bag-sized waste bin that sometimes not full by dustbin day, and that's mostly things that can't be recycled like washed yogurt or soy milk cartons. It doesn't smell as there is hardly any food matter involved. I make the best and healthiest salads in London, often take a homemade lunch to work, and I can cook!

Becky Bell ● 5902d

If you add layers of paper in between the 'waste' - all should be well.  And that is acceptable to those who collect the waste.

Dee Cook ● 5902d

I'm the world's least enthusiastic cook, so not much food waste, but it's very useful to have an efficient little box (which sits nicely underneath the kitchen stool) in which to deposit things like apple cores, banana skins and teabags!

Lorna Dodd ● 5902d

A bit sad I suppose that not only do some people never have food waste to dispose of but never have people round to eat with them.The caddies are a terrific idea, in fact so good that I bought one myself a few months ago. You can also put tea bags/leaves in them.

Andy Jones ● 5902d

John - I am sorry you find it 'repugnant' to recycle and Becky, don't you eat?  Everyone has some amount of food waste and to moan about Ealing Council trying to curb the amount of waste is just nonsense. The green boxes are easy to use and also deter the foxes, cats etc ripping open bin bags for food - they can smell chicken bones and any perishable goods and rip it open leaving everything strewn around the payment.

Niki Scrase ● 5902d

I would have no use for a food box.

Becky Bell ● 5903d

Whether you dump it on your compost heap, eat it all, or wrap it in newspaper first; it all helps to reduce the amount of material going into landfill holes. Ealing have invested quite a lot of our ££ so we all have a vested interest in making sure that it works.I imagine the small caddies and liners will help reduce the open decomposition and subsequent smell from the large boxes in summer. I just dropped a line to morrisons suggesting they should stock the liners as there should be a reasonable  demand for them.

Jeremy Beckett ● 5903d

I have always found it easy to just wrap scraps in newspaper and put them straight outside into the recycling bin. The small bin is too bg to keep permanently on my work surface. As I loathe waste, any suggestions as to what it could be used for instead of food scraps gratefully received.

Angela Peel ● 5903d

BUMP

Steve Bonnici ● 5903d

Yep I will be using the small one as the big one is too big for my kitchen and I did not like the idea of keeping in inside after it had been outside all day.  So little one will stay in kitchen and will be used to fill the bigger outside one.Don't understand how you have NO food waste,  I try not to waste but always have something that goes past its best,  and lots of veg peelings and wot not!

Jen Morty ● 5903d

I keep the big one by my sink and use it a lot - chicken bones, fruit peelings, onion skin and mouldy bread mostly. For me the small fiddly one is a slight disincentive but I can see that if you had a tiny kitchen or were living alone, it might get you to recycle - and presumably it's difficult for flats/the garden free to compost.

Sara Nathan ● 5903d

Ealing council has a "special offer" on compost bins at http://www.ealing.gov.uk/services/environment/recycling/composting/It's not free, but they do deliver. Perhaps someone could comment on the value for money, compared to going down the garden centre.

Ian M Green ● 5904d