It’s safe to freeze almost any food including meat, fish, vegetables, fruit and even bakery and dairy items. If it’s got a ‘use by’ date freeze before the date, defrost and use it within 24 hours.

Here are some great examples to inspire you to get freezing!

• Eggs – don’t freeze in the shell. Beat into a mixture or freeze whites and yolks separately. De-frost in the fridge, not at room temperature. Adding salt (for savoury), sugar (for sweet) stops yolks going lumpy. Use as you would fresh eggs.#

• Milk – freeze as soon as possible and thaw in the fridge. Plastic containers are okay for freezing milk in, but the milk will expand so pour out a small amount to allow for this.

• Cheese – try grating Cheddar cheese before freezing and use as toppings on pizza or shepherd’s pie from frozen. Stilton can be frozen without grating.

• Fruit – slice and freeze lemons then use them straight from the fridge in iced drinks.

• Cooked meat – such as chicken and turkey. Thaw in the fridge and use as normal, in casseroles, curries and stews.

• Bread – use from frozen as toast or make sandwiches for work – by lunchtime they’ll be de-frosted.

• Potatoes – parboil and freeze them for later, thaw and roast. Mashed potato freezes well.

• Yoghurt –pots can be placed straight in the freezer but the yoghurt will expand, so make sure there’s enough space in the pot to allow for this. If there isn’t, transfer to another container before freezing. Defrost and use in smoothies or straight from frozen as a frozen yoghurt dessert.

For lots more freezer ideas why not visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

The working area of the site will be increased within the existing perimeter, enabling the site to expand the range of existing services it offers and to adapt to future needs.

The current hard standing surface will be replaced with a new, more user friendly design.

The site will be closed between 11^th January and the 9^th March while the work is carried out.

Residents will be able to use other recycling centres across the county including those at nearby Cannock, Burntwood, Lichfield and Stafford during the redevelopment period. Residents are advised to check the opening days of their preferred alternative recycling centre.

Staffordshire County Councillor Mark Winnington, Cabinet Member for Environment and Assets, said the investment would improve the site for Rugeley residents.

“The Household Waste and Recycling Centre at Rugeley is a well used facility and we want to invest now to make sure the site continues to give the best service to the local community for years to come.

“We appreciate that the short closure of the site will be an inconvenience to people, but we would ask for patience as we improve the site for the benefit of local residents.”

Both hard and soft furniture items such as sofas, tables, chairs and beds can be taken to special containers at Stone, Cheadle, Biddulph, Leek and Cannock Recycling Centres to be reused .

Staffordshire based charities The Furniture Mine and Home Comforts collect furniture from the containers and refurbish it. It is then passed on to people who may be suffering disadvantage such as a disability or limited income, or to help them set up home.

As well as providing much needed furniture, the work enables the charities to provide volunteering and training opportunities to help people get back into work .

Staffordshire County Councillor Mark Winnington, Cabinet Member for Environment and Assets, said that furniture reuse was a key part of the work of the recycling centres.

“By depositing unwanted furniture in the containers, people are both helping those in need and reducing the amount of waste we produce. The containers are a vital part of the charities’ work and the Recycling Centres are the right place to have them.”

For more details on when these Household Waste Recycling Centres are open visit the Household Waste Recycling Centres page on this website

Since the council introduced its kerbside recycling service in 2007, residents have been putting cardboard in their brown bin with their garden and food waste.

But changes to organic waste regulations mean that the council will not be able to collect cardboard alongside leaves, grass, prunings and food waste from December.

Instead, cardboard will have to go in the grey bin used for plastic bottles, tubs and trays, glass bottles and jars, food and drinks cans, aluminium foil and tetra pak cartons.

To cope with the extra materials going in the grey bin, households with a smaller, 140-litre bin will be able to order a 240-litre replacement.  Anyone who wants to do this should visit www.staffsmoorlands.gov.uk and click the prominent link on the home page. Once the council knows how many new bins are required, an order will be placed with its supplier, and householders will get their new bin sometime in February or March next year.  

In the meantime, families who recycle a lot may struggle to get all their cardboard into their existing bin. If that is the case, they will be able to put excess cardboard neatly at the side of the grey bin on collection day.

The council will monitor street cleanliness during the switch over to ensure that any cardboard blown by the wind is collected as quickly as possible.

Households unable to accommodate a grey bin will be asked to put their cardboard in the kerbside box they use for other recyclables.

The new arrangements for cardboard collection will be followed by a waste round overhaul that will save the taxpayer more than £400,000 a year. This will see a reduction in the number of rounds, enabling the council to cut fuel costs and reduce the number of vehicles required while maintaining quality of service. Due to a number of current staff vacancies, employees’ jobs will be protected.

Collection dates may have to change but households will still have both their recycling and organic waste bins emptied on the same day each fortnight, and general waste will still be collected every other week.

The change to cardboard collection has been forced on the council by a tightening of regulations imposed by the Association for Organic Recycling (AfOR) to improve the quality of compost.

Research by AfOR has found that collections of garden waste, food waste and cardboard are often heavily contaminated with other items and that some of the inks used on cardboard packaging take too long to break down.

Cllr Arthur Forrester, council deputy leader and portfolio holder for the environment, said: “While we understand AfOR’s efforts to get the best possible compost, it’s unfortunate that we’re having to put residents to the trouble of a big change to our kerbside recycling service.

“Having said that, residents have responded in style to previous changes to the way in which we collect waste – and their enthusiasm for kerbside recycling has kept us top of the national league table for the last two years for which audited figures are available.

“That’s why I’m confident that households will soon get used to the new system, and that putting cardboard in the grey bin will soon be second nature”, he foresaw.

These banks, located at Sainsburys, Voyager Drive, Cannock, WS11 8XP, accept all the same items residents can recycle at home which include: paper, cardboard, cans, tins, plastic food trays, plastic bottles, loose carrier bags, tetra paks, aerosols, foil and yoghurt pots.

The new banks, which have been at Sainsburys since the end of October, have replaced the old glass and paperbanks to offer a more complete service for residents. As this is the first site of its kind in Cannock Chase District its success will be closely monitored to see if this would be a popular, easy to use facility to introduce elsewhere.

The unmissable, light pink recycling banks for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) have been installed at Burton’s Meadowside Leisure Centre, on the Duke Street car park in Tutbury and The Maltings car park, Silver Street, Uttoxeter.

 The new WEEE banks accept any small, electrical items such as remote controls, hairdryers, hair straighteners, shavers, kettles, VCRs and drills. 

If you are a resident of East Staffordshire and would like more information on what can be recycled through these recycling banks, or for advice on disposing of larger items, please contact East Staffordshire Borough Councils Customer Services team on 0800 269098 or visit their website at www.eaststaffsbc.gov.uk

This initiative links to the Love Food Hate Waste campaign which is all about reducing food waste through using up your leftovers in imaginative leftover dishes, better portioing for foods like pasta and rice and also providing really helpful storage tips to make food last much longer. Amazingly a family can save up to £50 a month by making some really simple changes. Visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com to find out more.

If you are a resident of East Staffordshire Borough Council and have a leftover recipe you would like to share why not send it to us at East Staffordshire Borough Council, Built Environment, Waste Management Section, Suite A, The Maltsters, Wetmore Road, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire  DE14 1LS. Please include your contact name and number along with a photograph of your dish on the recipe and the best one will win our special Love Food Hate Waste prize pack.  Entry recipes must be received by the 6^th January 2012.

To give you a bit of inspiration here’s a festive recipe from the Love Food Hate Waste website that’s really simple to do with your leftover cranberry sauce this Christmas:

Cranberry Brownies

This chocolate brownie recipe is from Tish Olney who is an outside caterer.  Add other leftover festive ingredients such as nuts or dried fruits.  They can be cut into mini squares for nibbles or for dinner party’s top with ice cream and berries.  The recipe doubles or triples well and they freeze brilliantly.

Ingredients

• 50g plain chocolate
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons cranberry sauce
• A pinch of salt
• 100g of unsalted butter
• 150g of caster sugar and syrups
• 2 eggs
• 40g flour

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180^oC (350^oF) mark 4.
2. Melt the butter and chocolate in a heavy based pan over a low heat, stirring frequently until melted and smooth.  Remove from heat.
3. Beat the sugar, with the eggs and cranberry sauce in a bowl and pour in the chocolate mixture with the vanilla extract, flour and salt.
4. Pour into a 21 cm square tin and bake for 15-20 minutes.  If you put in a toothpick it should come out wet.

 “It’s certainly an original gift idea and makes a great present for a keen gardener or anyone who has an interest in green issues or the environment” says Emma Ray Waste Minimisation Officer for the Staffordshire Recycling Partnership. 

Emma adds, “You can put a compost bin to use almost immediately by composting all the vegetable peelings from your Christmas dinner.  This will enable you to start your new compost heap off and by next autumn you’ll have lovely free compost for your garden as a result.”

Here are some christmas composting tips: 

*        Help next years’ plants grow by making use of this year’s tired vegetation. Adding spent bedding plants to your compost mix will help to capture all the nutrients and will give your new plants a great start when you wake the garden back up in the spring.

*        Bring the inside, outside! A third of our household waste can be composted at home. Anything from loo roll tubes and egg boxes to coffee grounds and tea leaves are all welcome additions to your compost bin

*        Make your compost mixture more a-peel-ing. Don’t forget to regularly add your kitchen waste to your compost. It will really appreciate the peelings from your tasty winter vegetables and festive fruits such as Satsumas and Clementines

*        Give your mix a Christmas present! Many of us will have extra waste over the festive period. Your compost mix will benefit from adding a few of the telltale signs of Christmas; fallen poinsettia leaves, scrunched up wrapping paper, Satsuma peel and egg shells will all be welcome winter additions .

If you are interested in purchasing a compost bin simply go to www.getcomposting.com or call 0844 571 4444.  Compost bins start from as little as £15 (plus £5.49 delivery per order).

Orders for Christmas delivery should be received by 5^th December to ensure delivery for the big day!

With advice available on your local recycling service and also how you can cook up a culinary masterpiece with your leftovers through the Love Food Hate campaign it’s worth popping along to find out more. Waste Minimisation Officers will be giving away free recipe cards at every event to promote how easy it is to use up any leftover bits and bobs you may have. With tempting recipes available such as “spanish potato tortilla”, “sausage risotto”, “turkey café salad” and “fruit bowl buns” there’s never been a better time to give a new recipe a try and save yourself up to £50 a month by making some simple changes.

If you are interested in coming along we will be at the following locations:

• 22nd November 2011, Cannock Shopping Centre, 9:30 – 15:00

• 23rd November 2011, Cannock Shopping Centre, 9:30 – 15:00

• 25th November 2011, Cannock Shopping Centre, 9:30 – 15:00

• 29^th November 2011, Talke Library, 14:00 – 17:00

• 2^nd December 2011, Audley Community Information Day, Pensioners Hall, Audley, 09:30 – 14:30

• 6^th December 2011, Sainsburys Biddulph, 09:30 – 14:30

• 7^th December 2011, Sainsburys Newcastle under Lyme, 11:00 – 14:00

• 12^th December 2011, Loggerheads Information Shop, Loggerheads Library, 10:30 – 13:00

• 15^th December 2011, Christmas Recycling Roadshow, The Madeley Centre, 11:00 – 14:30

If you can’t make it to our roadshows then why not visit www.lovefoodhatewaste.com for more information on how you can use up your leftovers this Christmas.