Xmas gunk

[smittims]

Does anyone have any tips for avoiding or disposing of unwanted muck at Xmas? No, I'm not talking about TV programmes.

After the turkey comes the tray full of sticky stuff. I narrowly avoided someone pouring it down the sink, where it would solidify and block the drain. If it were a goose I gather there's more still. What do you do with the stuff?

[Pulcinella]

Does anyone have any tips for avoiding or disposing of unwanted muck at Xmas? No, I'm not talking about TV programmes.

After the turkey comes the tray full of sticky stuff. I narrowly avoided someone pouring it down the sink, where it would solidify and block the drain. If it were a goose I gather there's more still. What do you do with the stuff?

The recommendation I saw from a water company was to pour it into a tin and dispose it in your landfill once it's set. There's only a limited use for stock/soup/gravy.

[eighthobstruction]

....Add it to bird seed or bread if that's all you have , put in freezer till set.....place it somewhere where cats and birds cannot interact....(depending where you live of course....Rats will also enjoy such foodstuff....)....but in my garden the jackdaws, etc etc will eat it in 3 seconds flat....

[oddoneout]

According to the TV there are two solutions. There's an army of fat little babies playing in clouds of bubbles that apparently take care of such things for those who handwash, otherwise in the dishwasher with it - out of sight out of mind until the cycle's finished and offending item appears all clean and as new.
In the real world it's scrape off as much as possible before washing, perhaps with a hot water plus detergent/washing soda soak if hand washing.
As a child it was never a problem as the residue in the tin was far too valuable to dispose of. It was poured into a suitable dripping container and used for spreading on toast (fat and jelly; chicken was the best and didn't last long with 3 children fighting over it ) or separated for frying and stock as needed. Lamb was more of a problem as even my mother balked at using the fat as a spread, so that was wrapped and put in the bin, although in winter it went to the garden birds.

[Dave2002]

Small amounts of such residue can be put into a compost bin or buried in a garden. However this really only works for very small amounts - as large amounts are likely to cause other problems, such as encouraging rats, with side problems such as smells and attracting flies. If put in a compost bin, it is good to cover things like this with a layer of soil.

I tend to use copious amounts of washing up liquid to emulsify the fat, but that really only works for fat which is not in a large solid lump - for example cleaning the sides of the containers once the fat has mostly been taken out. I do flush yoghurt and cream down the sink - maybe I shouldn't.

Otherwise I fear the solution to put it into some sort of wrapper and put it into the rubbish bin for the refuse collectors may be the best option.

Mostly people nowadays [and that includes me] tend to work on the principle of "out of sight - out of mind" combined with "SOEP = someone elses's problem".
Put the fat into some aluminium foil and put it into the refuse bin, and someone else will deal with it.

That also applies to flushing it down the sink - and just hope that the problem goes far enough away to not cause any backups.

I am also concened about the amount of aluminium which is wasted. Here we are not supposed to put aluminium foil in our recycling bins, as it jams up some of the machines used in the recycling plants apparently. This is a shame, as aluminium if recycled properly should save a lot of energy - as the initial purification of aluminium from ores is energy intensive.

[french frank]

Goose, duck and pork fat is surely too valuable to throw away? (not sure about turkey and chicken). But if not too much, use kitchen paper/newsprint to wipe round cooking things and put the paper in the food recycling bin. We are exhorted to Stop BinDigestion: Don't Feed Your Bin by not putting foodstuffs into the ordinary waste bin.

Ah, instructions for rendering turkey fat and reusing for cooking:

https://whereismyspoon.co/turkey-fat/

[Keraulophone]

Goose, duck and pork fat is surely too valuable to throw away?

We reuse Goose fat for months after Christmas Day for the best roast potatoes. The only problem is the huge rise in goose prices and ordering early enough to secure one. It was touch-and-go this year, but one eventually flew in from Devon.

[Old Grumpy]

Bother turkey!

I had a nice fillet steak - no fat no mess.

Can't stand turkey missel - vastly overrated IMO.

[richardfinegold]

The rat issue is major here. Chicago has been voted the rattiest city in theU.S., and that isn’t just referring to our politicians. We have struggled with the very issue raised by the OP during Thanksgiving, which is the major holiday that we host and cook for. We have been using the compost heap,but the last few years my sister takes the stuff after we have frozen it and uses it year round in her soups, and the rest of her family doesn’t seem to particularly enjoy the results

[Nick Armstrong]

....Add it to bird seed or bread if that's all you have , put in freezer till set.....place it somewhere where cats and birds cannot interact....(depending where you live of course....Rats will also enjoy such foodstuff....)....but in my garden the jackdaws, etc etc will eat it in 3 seconds flat....

Top tip

[smittims]

Wow! many thanks for all these replies.

[oddoneout]

Goose, duck and pork fat is surely too valuable to throw away? (not sure about turkey and chicken). But if not too much, use kitchen paper/newsprint to wipe round cooking things and put the paper in the food recycling bin. We are exhorted to Stop BinDigestion: Don't Feed Your Bin by not putting foodstuffs into the ordinary waste bin.

Ah, instructions for rendering turkey fat and reusing for cooking:

https://whereismyspoon.co/turkey-fat/

Wish we had food waste collection here, but I don't see it happening, the response has always been no whenever questions are asked about such a service. When my daughter was living on the outskirts of the city 15 years ago food waste collection was added to the doorstep collection. They had a selection of boxes into which to sort recycling, instead of the all-in-together bin we have had here(less than 20 miles away but a different council) from the off. It results in high rates of contamination as far as I can see(not least as the poorly designed lid flips open in the wind and so the contents get rained on, meaning paper and cardboard get wet and have to be landfilled) and also large quantities of broken glass get mixed in with paper etc. either when put in the bin or as it's tipped into the lorry.

[LMcD]

Wish we had food waste collection here, but I don't see it happening, the response has always been no whenever questions are asked about such a service. When my daughter was living on the outskirts of the city 15 years ago food waste collection was added to the doorstep collection. They had a selection of boxes into which to sort recycling, instead of the all-in-together bin we have had here(less than 20 miles away but a different council) from the off. It results in high rates of contamination as far as I can see(not least as the poorly designed lid flips open in the wind and so the contents get rained on, meaning paper and cardboard get wet and have to be landfilled) and also large quantities of broken glass get mixed in with paper etc. either when put in the bin or as it's tipped into the lorry.

We're asked to bag food waste and put it in the grey bin, which is emptied fortnightly.

[Old Grumpy]

We're asked to bag food waste and put it in the grey bin, which is emptied fortnightly.

So what's the "grey bin"? Does that mean it is collected as food waste or is just part of general waste (or "waste for energy" as our local council tip would somewhat euphemistically have it)?

Round here we have glass, limited plastics and metal cans, and paper/card separately collected (but by the same multifunctional wagon), but no food waste collection.

[LMcD]

So what's the "grey bin"? Does that mean it is collected as food waste or is just part of general waste (or "waste for energy" as our local council tip would somewhat euphemistically have it)?

Round here we have glass, limited plastics and metal cans, and paper/card separately collected (but by the same multifunctional wagon), but no food waste collection.

The grey - or general waste - bin is basically for stuff that can't be recycled or composted, although certain items are not allowed.. Anything that can be recycled goes in the blue bin, and anything compostable including garden waste in the brown bin (for which there is an annual charge). Apparently waste from the grey bin is burned to produce electricity, although some folk still believe that the contents of all 3 bins end up in landfill.