Some Shropshire bin slimmers' results

Thank you to everyone who is slimming their bin with us this November! We asked people to take a photo of their rubbish on bin day - then use that day as the first day of the rubbish diet and then weigh each bag as it goes into the wheelie bin. Now we worked out that the average weight of refuse per household in Shropshire is 16.4 kg. So far we have had the following results: 1.3 kg 2 x adults household 2.45 kg 2 x adults household 3.05 kg 3 x adults household 5.4 kg 5 people and a dog 15.0 kg average 4 people and a dog Awaiting results from another 12 households who are taking part. Here are some of the difficult items left in the bin: laminated paper, cheese rind, old fimo, fish skins/chicken bones, inside of a chocolate box ( the goldy bit that the chocs go in), toothpaste tube, toothbrush that had already been used for cleaning, coffee/crisp packets - foil lined packets, DIY - empty paint pots, old paint brush, painty/spirity newspaper. Here are some of the problems that set you back: "My first fortnight was an unmitigated disaster.  Baseline 2kg for the fortnight.  Now up to 15kg.  More people in house -  daughter and boyfriend for 5 nights, my brother and his wife for 2.  That makes it up to an average of 4 people in the house from our normal 3.  Problem areas: -          Food waste -  fridge too full, me too busy, Dad giving me food he’d overbought just on/over its use by, both of us buying salad on the same day, food no longer fit to eat wasted chucked in its packets!! -          Broken crockery -          Neighbours large dog using our lawn as a toilet Onward and upward and yes food waste the focus.  And maybe visitor training? Questions:  what can I do with a broken mug?  What can I do with backpack on which zips are bust? Solutions:   Bag in freezer for stale bread -  the bread and butter pudding bag;  big carrier bags for film and black pots; planning our meals (breakthrough) and cooking stuff that will do three days meals  -  veg bake for me, chicken for the carnivores. So the rubbish diet is not all plain sailing - you do need a good run at it and it is easy to come off the rails occasionally. However - if we manage the bin slim for even 50% of the time we will be making a real difference to the waste that goes to landfill - and our council tax will go further and we will be saving money by not wasting food! Anyone else want to join us on the Rubbish Diet - drop us a line on alison.thomas08@gmail.com or follow us on twitter @RDShrosphire thanks Ali

Got to stop guessing on quantities

I have never been an exact cook - a bit of this and a bit of that for about that long. However - I find that my approximate approach to recipes means that I often over buy by a couple of portions. I carefully store the leftovers intending to eat them the next day - when low and behold they get forgotten behind something in the fridge and have to be thrown away or at the dog - what a waste of money!! But things are going to change!!! I have just discovered this great tool devised by the Love food Hate Waste campaign http://england.lovefoodhatewaste.com/portions/everyday It works out how much of different ingredients you need to buy. Now, I have 3 boys who eat way more than I do so I put in 5 adults rather than 2 plus 3 children and this seems to work for us. Over the next 2 weeks I am going to use it to see if I can eliminate food waste all together. I would love to hear your top tips for avoiding food waste