Save money and the planet by Unlocking Savings with the "Too Good To Go" Food Buying App

In today's fast-paced rapid world, convenience often comes with a hefty price tag, especially when it comes to food. 

Whether we're grabbing a coffee on the go or ordering a takeaway or delivery for dinner, our food expenses can quickly mount up. However, there's a solution that not only saves you money but also helps combat food waste: The "Too Good To Go" app.

What is "Too Good To Go"?

"Too Good To Go" is a mobile application designed to help connect consumers with local restaurants, cafes, bakeries, and grocery stores which have surplus food at the end of the day. Instead of letting this food go to waste, businesses offer it at a heavily discounted price via the app, allowing the app's users to purchase "magic bags" filled with assorted items.

How Does it Work?

Using the app is simple. After downloading "Too Good To Go" from your app store (Google or Apple) you can browse nearby businesses offering surplus food. Each listing provides information about the contents of the magic bag, the pickup time, and the discounted price. Once you find something you like, you can reserve it through the app and pick it up at the designated time.

Saving Money with "Too Good To Go"

Here's how you can make the most of the app to save money:

Affordable Meals: By purchasing surplus food through "Too Good To Go," you can enjoy high-quality meals at a fraction of the usual cost. Whether it's a lunchtime sandwich, a box of pastries, or a dinner from your favorite restaurant, there are plenty of options for you to choose from.

Exploring New Places: The app allows you to discover new eateries in your area that you may not have tried otherwise. With the discounted prices offered through "Too Good To Go," it's the perfect opportunity to sample the offerings of local businesses without breaking the bank.

Reducing Food Waste: Beyond the financial benefits, using "Too Good To Go" contributes to the fight against food waste. By rescuing surplus food that would otherwise be thrown away, you're helping to minimise the environmental impact of food production and disposal.

Budgeting Made Easy: With the app, you can plan your meals and snacks while staying within your budget. The fixed price of the magic bags makes it easier to track your food expenses and avoid overspending on impulsive purchases.

Tips for Maximising Savings

Check Regularly: New listings are added throughout the day, so check the app regularly to see what's available in your area.

Be Flexible: Since the contents of the magic bags vary depending on what's left at the end of the day, be open to trying new foods and flavours.

Share with Friends: Consider splitting the cost of a magic bag with friends or family to enjoy even greater savings.

In conclusion, "Too Good To Go" is not only a money-saving tool but also a socially and environmentally conscious way to enjoy delicious food while reducing waste. By embracing this innovative app, you can indulge in guilt-free meals while helping to build a more sustainable future.

So why wait? Download "Too Good To Go" today and start unlocking savings one magic bag at a time!

Sustainable Eating: Tips for Reducing Food Waste and Eating Responsibly

In a world facing numerous environmental challenges, sustainable eating has emerged as a crucial aspect of reducing our ecological footprint. 

Food waste is a significant contributor to environmental harm, accounting for a large portion of greenhouse gas emissions and wasted resources. 

Embracing sustainable eating practices not only helps mitigate these issues but also promotes healthier lifestyles and supports more ethical food production systems. Here, we'll explore some practical tips for reducing food waste and eating responsibly.

Plan Your Meals:

One of the most effective ways to reduce food waste is to plan your meals in advance. Take some time each week to create a meal plan, considering what ingredients you already have and what you need to buy. Planning meals not only helps you buy only what you need but also ensures you use up perishable items before they go off.

Check your store cupboard supplies: 

Make sure that items in your store cupboard are fit to eat. Don't necessarily merely rely on the best before or use by dates. Look at them, smell them and taste them. If they seem OK, then they probably are.

Buy Wisely:

When grocery shopping, be mindful of what you buy. Opt for locally sourced, seasonal produce when this is possible, as it typically has a lower environmental impact and supports local farmers. Also, try to avoid overbuying perishable items that may spoil before you can use them. Stick to your shopping list and resist the temptation to purchase more than you need.

Embrace Imperfect Produce:

Many fruits and vegetables are discarded simply because they don't meet aesthetic standards. However, these "imperfect" produce items are often just as nutritious and delicious as their more visually appealing counterparts. By choosing imperfect produce, you not only help reduce food waste but also support efforts to combat food insecurity and promote a more inclusive food system. Morrison's and Tesco are two supermarkets that offer wonky vegetables and fruit. 

Practice Proper Storage:

Properly storing your food can help extend its shelf life and prevent spoilage. Invest in reusable containers and storage bags to keep fruits, vegetables, and leftovers fresh for longer. Additionally, familiarize yourself with the optimal storage conditions for different types of produce to ensure they stay fresh as long as possible.

Get Creative with Leftovers:

Instead of letting leftovers go to waste, get creative and find ways to repurpose them into new meals. Leftover vegetables can be added to soups, stir-fries, or salads, while leftover proteins can be used in sandwiches, wraps, or pasta dishes. Not only does this reduce food waste, but it also adds variety to your meals and saves you money.

Compost Food Scraps:

Despite our best efforts, some food waste is inevitable. Instead of sending it to the landfill where it contributes to methane emissions, consider composting your food scraps. Composting not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions but also produces nutrient-rich soil that can be used to support healthy plant growth in your own vegetable patch. We intend to cover this subject at a later date.

Sustainable eating is about making conscious choices that minimize our impact on the environment and promote a more ethical and equitable food system. By following these tips for reducing food waste and eating responsibly, you can play a significant role in building a more sustainable future for generations to come. Remember, every small change in our eating habits can make a big difference in the health of our planet.

(Image courtesy of Ben Kerckx from Pixabay)

Good news! Aldi's beer and cider ranges are now plastic free!

Aldi has removed all plastic packaging from its own-label four-pack beers and ciders to further slash plastic waste.

The UK’s fourth-largest supermarket has replaced potentially environmentally dangerous plastic shrink wrap and rings with a safer, greener cardboard alternative.

The packaging is fully recyclable at home and removes 95 tonnes of plastic packaging per year, as part of Aldi’s continuing efforts to reduce its environmental impact and develop alternative packaging for its products.

Luke Emery, Plastics and Packaging Director at Aldi, said: “Minimising plastic waste is important to both Aldi and our customers, and we are always looking for ways to adapt our packaging. Moving our beer and cider to card packaging is another step in our fight against unwanted plastic.”

The change follows Aldi’s switch to fully recyclable own-label handwash packaging in May and the removal of single-use cutlery from its Food To Go range in September. 

Lidl partners with revolutionary egg producer Kipster

Lidl GB has announced an exclusive UK partnership that will see it become the first Grocer in Great Britain to sell British eggs from the revolutionary egg company Kipster, which is said to produce “the most animal and environmentally friendly farms in the world."

Kipster’s industry leading and transformative farming concept will see British eggs produced by chickens which are kept in the highest welfare standards and which have a significantly reduced carbon footprint, with the remaining offset through the purchase of carbon credits.

Having first introduced its egg farming concept to Holland back in 2017, Kipster’s exclusive partnership with Lidl GB means British shoppers will be able to purchase eggs sourced from Kipster’s British “egg farm of the future” from Spring 2025, once planning permissions for the Shropshire farm has been granted.

The Kipster concept was developed in partnership with scientists and animal welfare organisations to meet the needs and instincts of chickens. The farms, which exceed typical free range standards, enable the animals to roam freely inside or out, with access to an indoor playground filled with daylight and fresh air. Through the installation of live 24/7 web cams the conditions chickens live in are available for all to see, any time, any place, demonstrating Kipster’s dedication to absolute transparency.

Peter de Roos, Chief Commercial Officer for Lidl GB, said: “When we first met with Kipster, we were instantly struck by their devotion and commitment to providing the highest welfare standards for chickens and roosters, whilst also doing right by the planet. 

"At Lidl we want to give our customers the very best products at the best possible prices, which is why we’re so excited to be the first grocer to bring Kipster’s eggs to our stores across Great Britain. We are strongly urging Telford and Wrekin Council in Shropshire to approve the plans to ensure British shoppers have access to this industry leading egg.”

Ruud Zanders, Founder of Kipster, commented: "We are delighted to be working with British farmers who are keen to take the next step towards more animal welfare and environmental sustainability. We are immensely grateful to Lidl for the trust they put in us to get Kipster off the ground in the UK. With their support we farmers can close the gap between what we're doing and what people want and need, which is more ethically and sustainably produced food."

Dr Tracey Jones, Global Director of Food Business at Compassion in World Farming said: “We fully support Kipster’s innovative barn system for laying hens as it addresses both animal welfare and sustainability concerns, plus providing a good working environment for the farmers, too.

"Compassion awarded Kipster a Good Egg Award and Best Marketing Award in 2018 for promoting their welfare and environmentally friendly eggs, and we believe the Kipster concept has real potential for replication and growth in the future.”

The company also has a clear commitment to tackling food waste. It takes a circular approach to what the chickens and roosters eat, with animals eating a newly developed feed made using the by-products from crop and food processing, such as faulty pasta products or unwanted food from bakeries. 

The resulting upcycled feed has a carbon footprint around 40% of conventional chicken feed, with the remaining GHG emissions offset through carbon credits. It also shuns the standard industry practice of culling newly born roosters given their inability to lay eggs, instead rearing them in their friendly farms to eventually be used for meat.

The Kipster “farm of the future” will be operated by Shropshire based Griffiths Family Farms, who currently have planning application in with Telford and Wrekin Council for the new site, which is set to be determined this month, November.   

The introduction of Kipster eggs in Lidl stores follows the discounter’s industry -leading move to introduce Welfare Windows on packaging to improve supply chain transparency for customers.

Innovative Circular Grocery Start-up weekly.shop Receives Investment From Low Carbon Innovation Fund 2 And Turquoise Capital.

weekly.shop (https://www.weekly.shop), the innovative grocery start-up which aims at eliminating throwaway packaging from grocery shopping has secured investment from the Low carbon Innovation Fund (LCIF2) and Turquoise Capital, bringing their total funding to date to over £350k.

The investment comes alongside angels, including key early and senior individuals from the likes of graze.com, Harry’s and Hello Fresh. weekly.shop are also current recipients of a UK Research and Innovation grant to fight plastic waste.

LCIF2 supports innovative businesses dedicated to reducing carbon emissions and minimising environmental impact. Turquoise, the fund manager for LCIF2, shares this commitment to a greener future, specialising in sustainability-focused ventures. On this occasion they have further invested themselves alongside LCIF2.

weekly.shop’s service is the first of its kind in the UK and brings consumers a frictionless way to buy zero waste groceries. It’s a much needed solution, according to Greenpeace figures, nearly 40% of all plastic packaging waste comes from grocery shopping (that's a whopping 886,000 tonnes - 97bn items per year), and only 12% of it is ever recycled.

The weekly.shop pilot is soon to launch in London and this investment will help drive this key development phase as the first customers try the service (the waiting list already has over 750 eager shoppers on it).

A B-Corp Pending, the start-up was the brainchild of cofounders Paul Cooke and Mark Holland, who met when both were in the founding team at successful pet food start-up, tails.com (acquired by Nestle in 2018). As parents of younger children, they were motivated to help build a better future for their (and everybody else’s) kids.

"We’re delighted such experienced and aligned investors have shown belief and conviction in our vision for a new type of grocery shopping. This investment from LCIF2 and Turquoise Capital will help us bring that vision to life" said Cooke.

Holland added, “We’re working to bring about system change and to have large scale impact, having investors who also want to have this kind of impact is very important to us.”

Kevin Murphy, director at Turquoise, commented: “weekly.shop provides a service which enables customers to buy and consume their weekly shop with no packaging waste. We are delighted to make this investment as it fits very well in the investment strategy of LCIF2 into technologies and services helping to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) as there are huge savings to be made by avoiding throwaway packaging on food deliveries.”

Fruitful pickings. Tesco works with Veolia to recycle soft plastic and support schools across the UK

Tesco is teaming up with the top sustainable resource management company Veolia, Groundwork and local councils to introduce greener areas in schools, and give children a stronger, better start by learning more about thir environment.

The Veolia Orchard campaign will be donating nearly 600 fruit trees and 800 strawberry plants to schools which are hampered by having limited space or having no green areas at all. 

Now in its second successful year the scheme has grown across another 190 schools thanks to the generous support of 22 local councils.

To help house the plants, Tesco will be donating special planters which are made using from recycled soft plastics, which have been collected in its stores from customers to help recycle plastics that can't always be collected via kerbside collections. 

Soft plastic used in each planter could include bread bags, carrier bags and pasta packets, all collected taken from Tesco’s in-store drop off locations, and will help recycle approximately 7.3 tonnes of materials. 

The apple and pear trees and strawberry plants, provided by Grow at Brogdale who specialise in organic plant care, will be delivered to the winning schools during the month of November, when the trees will have dropped their leaves and gone hibernation, thus giving them the best possible chance of surviving our winter weather. Veolia’s own ProGrow will also be providing peat-free compost to fill the planters up.

Veolia Orchard is part of Veolia's Sustainable Schools programme, which aims to help teach children and younger adults the importance of protecting our planet and our environment. Tesco’s own Stronger Starts campaign supports the physical and mental wellbeing of children, encouraging healthy eating alongside learning and opportunities to get more active.

Pascal Hauret, Managing Director, Municipal at Veolia said: “Improving air quality around schools, engaging pupils on the power of plants and finding innovative recycling solutions which contribute the greater benefit to the communities we serve in is all part of our purpose to deliver ecological transformation. 

"Considering the fact that we only launched Veolia Orchard last year, we're thrilled at how popular the campaign is with schools and are delighted to be able to support almost double the amount we did in 2022.” 

Courtney Pallett, Tesco’s Packaging Campaigns Manager said: “Our in-store recycling locations help make soft plastics even easier for our customers to recycle. We’re obviously really pleased to work with Veolia to turn the plastic waste we collect into something new,  keeping the waste out of the environment and helping create greener learning spaces for children in our local communities.”

Tesco’s 4Rs packaging strategy aims to remove plastic where it can, reduce it where it can't, reuse more and recycle what's left. To date, Tesco has removed over 2 billion pieces of plastic from its UK business, including: 

●    200+ million bags from Tesco.com deliveries

●    100+ million extra lids from products such as wipes, creams, yogurts and desserts

●    50 million pieces of plastic wrapping from cans of branded beers and ciders

For more information on Veolia Orchard, or Veolia’s Sustainable Schools programme, visit www.veolia.co.uk/schools.

Aldi is removing ‘Use By’ dates from its fresh milk to help reduce food waste

Britain’s fourth-largest supermarket will instead begin using ‘Best Before’ dates on milk bottles,  but excluding filtered milk, across its English and Welsh stores to prevent milk from being thrown away unnecessarily. The changes will start rolling out in stores by year's end.

According to leading waste reduction charity WRAP, almost 300,000 tonnes of milk is wasted by UK households annually, with half of households stating the reason for pouring it away is due to it not being consumed by the Use By date.

As milk can be safe to use past its Best Before date, provided it's been stored properly and doesn’t smell off, Aldi will encourage shoppers to perform a ‘sniff test’ to determine whether their milk is still fine to use.

Said Liz Fox, who is Aldi UK's sustainability Director at Aldi UK: “We're constantly striving and working  hard to be a more sustainable retailer and we're dedicated to preventing food waste wherever we possibly can, both in our stores and helping customers throw away less food at their homes.

“We hope shoppers will embrace this change and look, smell, and taste their milk to see if it’s still fine to use, so together we'll be able to reduce the effect food waste has on the environment.”

The removal of Use By Dates is Aldi's latest move to reduce its food waste, as it works towards its goal of halving this by 2030.

Aldi's already removed Best Before dates from some 60 fresh fruit and vegetable lines, including apples and pears, citrus fruits, potatoes, carrots and onions, and earlier this year rolled out its partnership with food surplus app Too Good To Go nationwide. Customers can purchase a Too Good To Go ‘magic bag’ of food that is approaching the end of its shelf life for £3.30, with each bag containing at least £10 of groceries.

Aldi also recently introduced clear caps on its milk bottles to improve recyclability.

Recycling food containers and related items. Why is it so difficult?

We are all, by-and-large, better than ever before about recycling our household waste. But why is it so difficult to recycle many items, especially food-related items?

The following, in general, cannot, as yet, be recycled:-

Grease- or Oil-Soaked Cardboard. (Even vegetable oils)

Lids and caps from many bottles.

Ceramic or Oven-Safe Serving Pieces.

Styrofoam or Polystyrene Containers.

Plastic Utensils.

Plastic Bags and Plastic Wrap. (Although these can be recycled at some supermarkets, but not at home, for some reason.)

Waxed Paper and Cartons.

Bubble wrap, in some areas.

This BBC link explains in more detail. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220525-what-can-and-cant-be-recycled.

The problem is that in order to know what plastics can or cannot be recycled ( PETE/PET, HDPE, PVC, LDPE, PP, PS and other plastics) it seems you require a BSc degree in plastics technology and recycling.

Why can't the authorities just take all waste and then have trained workers sort them out and identify what can and cannot be recycled at a central recycling/waste depot? Too expensive? But if recycling and our environment is really as important as the government and local authorities and green pressure groups claim, surely it would be worth paying more money to address the issues of proper recycling?

As it is at our homes we have food recycling bins, green bins, bins for paper (separate bins for card in some areas) bins for plastics and glass and general recycling, containers for batteries, etc, all of which take up room in people's gardens, yards, patios, garages, pathways, etc.

So we can have up to six or seven different boxes, bags, bins for recycling at our properties.

The following site also has some useful information https://wrap.org.uk.

(Image courtesy Image by S K from Pixabay)