War on waste
People are being urged not to chuck away their leftovers in a bid to slash the amount of waste food thrown away each year.
Families throw out huge amounts of leftovers and unused food every month, wasting more than 10 a week on average and filling up landfill sites with rotting grub.
The amount of waste is staggering – research by Winchester City Council found that the authority dealt with more than 3,000 tons of food waste from people's bins each year.
That is the equivalent weight of 206 double-decker buses.
To combat this, the authority is kicking-off the campaign with the slogan: 'Taste it, don't waste it.'
And it will be taken to the streets on the sides of the council's 16 dustbin lorries, which between them cover 8,000 miles each week.
Cllr Frank Pearson, in charge of environment matters, said it was the first time the refuse trucks have been used as advertising boards.
'This is a really exciting venture for us – using our own fleet of vehicles to spread important messages.
'The "Taste it, don't waste it" posters are designed to be fun and eye catching – and I hope people will enjoy them.'
The main reasons people give for throwing away food are cooking or preparing too much – for example cooking too much rice or pasta which gets left in the saucepan or on the plate – or not using food in time and having to throw out fruit and vegetables because they've gone off in the fruit bowl or in the fridge, or not eating food before it goes past its use-by date.
The campaign is being supported by Winchester chef Andy Mackenzie from the Lainston House Hotel, which is offering a local resident the chance to win a night at the four-star hotel – dinner included – and a personal cooking tutorial, as top prize in a competition run with the council.
Mr Mackenzie, executive chef at the hotel, said: 'As a chef, you learn about food planning and buying – and they are very important skills for anyone running a kitchen.
'It doesn't take long to plan a week's menu in advance – but it saves you a lot of time and money in the long run.'
>>> To enter the competition and to see the full rules go to www.winchester.gov.uk by September 17.Tasty tips for leftovers
Try roasting a selection of your leftover vegetables in a little olive oil. Top with a grated cheddar cheese, then stick it in the oven until the cheese is melted and golden.
For tasty chicken nuggets, try dipping leftover chicken pieces in a beaten egg, then rolling them in fresh breadcrumbs and oats and roasting them in the oven at 230C, for 15-20 minutes.
To freshen up stale rolls, seal them in a brown paper bag, sprinkle the outside of the bag with water, then heat it for 10-15 minutes in a 175C oven. Watch carefully.
Freeze leftover bread and rolls to use for homemade croutons, crumbs or stuffing at a later date.
Don't pour out leftover coffee. Freeze it into coffee ice cubes for iced coffee or other iced drinks. The same goes for tea.
Save meat drippings, they can be frozen and used to add flavour to casseroles, sauces, gravies and so on.
Keep a special section in the freezer for leftover vegetables. When you have enough for soup, thaw and puree in the blender with vegetable, chicken or beef stock. And you'll get a different flavour every time.
When you peel potatoes, leave a small amount of the potato on the peeling and place the pieces in a bowl of cold water. Drain them and pat dry. Place the peelings on a greased pan in a single layer. Sprinkle the peelings with garlic, parsley, or any seasoning you like. Bake until crisp and golden.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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