cling film vs foil

[mint]

For leftovers and other foodstuffs (raw or cooked), which is better to use from the point of view of the environment and of health?

For most things, I tend to put them in deep dishes and put a plate over the top.  I also use glass jars and glass containers with lids.  Do use plastic boxes which are sturdy enough to last for years.  But sometimes, when it's just to keep in the fridge for a day or two, I hesitate over the cling film and the foil.

Wasn't there some worry about aluminium saucepans and food containers some years ago?  As for cling film, that is single use plastic and I wonder whether I should still be using it?

[idun]

What do we do, I do not know. I know I use a lot less plastic than I

ever have.

One thing that I do is I put the rolls of cling film in a

specially bought dispenser with an integrated cutter and only cut off what I need.

I wrap lettuces that I have cut into with foil. And to cut it  I have to say, I use a plastic knife as I was told that doing these things stopped 'browning' and it seems to work very well. I put the foil wrapped lettuce in the fridge.

So plastic knife and foil and my lettuce lasts a lot longer. In winter I will buy salads and not necessarily use it as much as in summer.

My biggest problem is freezing things, cannot put things like bread, just in the freezer or in boxes, seem to get freezer burn too quickly. I do use reusable plastic boxes and cling film and some plastic bags.

Sometimes I use dishes like pyrex and some have their own lids, handy for the freezer.

Maybe we should do as the olde days. Shop daily. And with excess crops, bottle, ie boiling veggies in kilner jars, or make jams or chutneys etc. And having tinned foods.

How different life was during my childhood, the larder had a few tins in it, the rest came in fresh all the time and was eaten.

[Lehaut]

"How different life was during my childhood, the larder had a few tins in it, the rest came in fresh all the time and was eaten."

Indeed, the nearest corner shop when I lived in Hull was 50 meters from our front door, veg shopping every couple of days, next shop for ham etc 150 meters, block of ice cream for a sunday lunch 250 meters (no fridge or freezer in the house). Since we downsized from our old farm house in the countryside, (car for every shop visit) to a flat in town, we have rediscovered the simple pleasure of walking to the shops to buy lunch or dinner. The freezer has also been considerably downsized too!

[alittlebitfrench]

I was worried when reading the title of this thread.

I thought Mint was trying to get rid of a dead body.

[mint]

For doing that, ALBF, I'd used quick lime. 

[idun]

What a thing to consider ALBF, well..........

I agree with  mint, quick lime or pigs doing the deed would seem a good way to dispose of a body.

Me, I read and watch tooooo many detective stories[:-))]

[idun]

mint, did you ever watch Fried Green Tomatoes.......... I remember laughing and laughing when one woman was dressed in a dress of cling film which her friends had wrapped her in.

Trouble would be that it probably could only be used once, so very very bad, but amused Idun years ago!

[PaulT]

The BBC have run a series of programmes called 'Inside the Factory'. Here they show the process for producing, say, biscuits, and wrapped in plastic. These are packed in to boxes then loaded on a pallet and then a huge amount of film is wrapped around the pallet. And it is common across manufacture of all sorts of products. Seems that the ordinary person only makes a small contribution to the overall waste.

Then there are, say, packets of ham in a plastic tray with a plastic film lid. Turn them over and it will state 'currently unrecyclable' or 'check with your local authority' without stating what the plastic is.

Here in Lincolnshire there are a number of Borough Councils withing Lincolnshire County Council. Each borough has a different list of what can be recycled.......and they all use the same recycling company!

[Judith-aka-Judith]

Mint, all I can say is that foil can often be recycled, just wipe clean if needed first, whilst I am pretty sure that cling film cannot.  Swings and roundabouts as to keeping things fresh, but another advantage of film is that it can be used as a cover in the oven or elsewhere if needed too ...

Just my twopennorth, can't say which works best though.

[BritinBretagne]

[quote user="Lehaut"]

Since we downsized from our old farm house in the countryside, (car for every shop visit) to a flat in town, we have rediscovered the simple pleasure of walking to the shops to buy lunch or dinner. ![/quote]

It’s not always as straightforward as that. I often visit my aunt who lives in a town whereas I live in a rural location. However my nearest shops, including a supermarket are nearer to me than hers are to her.. she always drives to pick up bread, I often walk or cycle.

The cling film and foil that I brought to France almost seven years ago are still going strong in a kitchen drawer. I don’t think that I’m qualified to recommend one over the other.

[idun]

When we were buying the house we currently live in, one of the things on the list was to be near bus stops with good services to the shops and other towns. And that is a thing one can do in towns, if one believes that it is a priority and trying to avoid using the car all the time.

Now I have 'working' legs, I can walk into town too, but heyho, I have a bus pass now and so I often walk in and bus home with my shopping.

But in our old village, well, even though we were lucky and had a fairly regular bus service, most of our friends who also lived in villages did not. Sometimes once a week at awful hours.

People chose to live where they live and things that would be my priority appear to be things that others do not.

The other thing is, that I would have an age related driving test for us older folk, don't care what the stats say about safe, Mr McGoo never got into accidents, you don't have to be in an accident to not create chaos on the roads, and most would pass a simple test, but there are those who should no longer be driving and they need to be off the roads.