1. 0300 123 5011
www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/recycling
We throw away 7.2 million of tonnes of food
every year in the UK. Of course, some are
peelings, cores and bones, but most of it is,
or once was, perfectly good food.
By making the most of the food that we buy, the
average family can save up to £50 per month –
as well as reducing what we throw into landfill.
The good news is that over the next few pages,
we’ve got some quick and easy ways to make the
most of our food. There are delicious recipes and
useful tips on storing food. Enjoy!
Understanding ‘use by’ dates and knowing the
best way to store food to keep it fresher for
longer can help save us pounds. Below are
just a few tips that you might find helpful:
1.Remember to keep your fridge temperature
below 5°C.
2.Store bread in a cool dark, air tight place.
It’s best not to put bread in the fridge as it
goes stale much quicker.
3.The fridge is the ideal place to store most of
your fruit and veg (except bananas and pine-
apples) they can last up to two weeks longer.
4.It pays to plan! Planning your meals is one
of the most effective ways you can cut
food waste and food bills.
Green News
Savvy Storage
Lovely
leftovers

2. My Big Fat
Mousakka
This is a good recipe for using leftover
potatoes and vegetables. By scrubbing
the potatoes and not peeling them you are
saving on excess waste, also a lot of the
nutrients come from the potato skin.
This recipe uses ground cumin and coriander
for an authentic flavour, but omit if your children
don’t like spicy flavours.
1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F) mark 5. Put
the potatoes in a large pan of water, bring up to
the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes until
they are just cooked. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the onion,
garlic and spices and cook for 5 minutes or until
soft. Turn up the heat and add the lamb mince
and cook, stirring for another 4-5 minutes,
add the tomatoes and season well. Continue
to cook for about 20-25 minutes adding the
stock in stages.
3. To make the sauce, place the butter, flour, milk
and mustard in a small saucepan and, whisking
continuously, cook over a medium heat until the
sauce begins to boil and thicken. Turn down the
heat to its lowest and let the sauce cook for 2
minutes. Allow to cool a little then add the grated
cheese (reserving a handful for the topping) and
eggs, nutmeg and seasoning.
4. In a large shallow ovenproof dish or individual
freezer dishes, layer the meat with the potato
slices, finishing with a neat layer of potato slices.
Pour the sauce over the potatoes and sprinkle
with the reserved grated cheese.
5. Place in the preheated oven to cook for 25-30
minutes or until golden and bubbling.
Ingredients
Serves 10-12
500g waxy potatoes, scrubbed
and cut into thick slices
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
900g minced lamb
700ml chicken stock either homemade
or from cubes
80g butter
75g plain flour
1.2 litres milk
1 teaspoon mustard
250g leftover grated cheese
4 eggs
Pinch of nutmeg
Black peppercorns
Salt
2 x 400g canned chopped tomatoes
SPID
your spud.
Store Potatoes
In the Dark
to keep your
tatties good.

3. The key to good compost lies with getting the mix right.
You need to keep your greens and browns properly balanced.
Here’s some advice on how to keep your compost healthy:
GREENS
• Tea bags
• Grass cuttings
• Vegetable peelings, salad leaves and
fruit scraps
• Old flowers and nettles
• Coffee grounds and filter paper
• Spent bedding plants
• Rhubarb leaves
• Young annual weeds (e.g. chickweed)
BROWNS
• Crushed egg shells
• Egg and cereal boxes
• Corrugated cardboard and
shredded paper
• Toilet, kitchen roll tubes and vacuum
bag contents
• Garden prunings
• Vegetarian pet bedding
• Ashes from wood, paper and lump
wood charcoal
• Tissues, paper towels and napkins
+
KEEP THESE OUT
• Cooked vegetables
• Meat
• Dairy products
• Diseased plants
• Dog poo or cat litter or
baby nappies
• Perennial weeds
e.g. dandelion and thistles
top tips
• If your compost is too wet and gives off an
odour, add more browns
• If your compost is too dry and is not rotting,
add some greens
• Make sure you mix up your material to add
air pockets to your bin
Making good compost

4. Frank is one of our waste reduction
volunteers, he is a Master Composter from
Macclesfield.
Food waste still makes up about a third of
Cheshire’s “other waste” - or what you put in
your black bin! As a nation, the UK sends a
massive 7.2 million tonnes of food to landfill
every year.
Composting helps reduce landfill and here
Frank offers readers answers to common
composting questions that are asked at events.
Q1. Why does my compost heap take so long to
break some stuff down, even in the summer?
I always end up with un-composted material,
such as broccoli stems, which spoils the finished
product.
A1. Sometimes people add material that is too large.
If possible, chop it down to about the size of a 50p.
Garden shredders are useful on woody material and
you can always sieve out lumps from finished
compost and add them back in for another cycle.
Q2. Somebody told me not to add orange peel
to compost as it stops it working.
A2. Citrus peel and even whole citrus fruit can be
composted. The confusion may come from the fact
that brandling worms (often taken as a sign of a
“working” heap) dislike an acid environment. That
doesn’t stop the composting process though, which
is initially driven by micro organisms. Eventually
these break down the acid and the worms return.
Q3. We often have summer barbecues and
wondered what to do with the ash and
unburned charcoal.
A3. Provided you’re using lumpwood charcoal and
not briquettes, wood ash and charcoal can be added
to your compost heap in modest quantities. It could
also be applied to the garden direct, particularly
round delphiniums in spring to deter slugs, but be
aware that BBQ smells can be retained by the
charcoal and are irresistible to pets who might
choose to eat the tastier lumps!
Q4.: Why are there some small black flies
in my bin?
A4. These are harmless fruit flies that feed from
fruit peelings. Make sure that fruit skins are mixed
thoroughly with the other materials in the compost
bin and spread a thin layer of soil over the top if
necessary. It may help to wrap fruit peelings in a
sheet of newspaper.
Franks QA’s
Interested in becoming
a Waste Reduction
Volunteer?
Start talking rubbish today. Increase your skills,
knowledge and attend informal training sessions,
meet new people and make a difference to your
community.
Find out more today from the Project Co-ordinator:
email:wastevolunteers@Cheshireeast.gov.uk
Tel: 0300 123 5011
Thanks for reading, look out
for our summer edition.