Rant of the Day v2.

[CharlieOneSix]

We have a Maytag American style fridge/freezer with mains water connected for ice making. Every 6 months or so a red light appears indicating that the filter needs changing on the inlet water supply located in the fridge section. Funny that, because we have a private water supply which is filtered twice before it reaches the unit so we have never put a filter in there. We just reset the light and it's another 6 months or so before it comes on again.

Just another con to make those who have fitted a filter believe the red light is indicating that it is partially blocked and they should buy another filter from Maytag.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Problems with plastic packaging are just the surface indication of the underlying problems, which are things like theft ( by shoplifting and employees), improperly prepared foodstuffs, and sheer profiteering by the sellers. None of the real problems are going to be admitted to, much less solved, so the current inconsistent madness continues. Nobody in Government appears to have the brains to tackle the root problems, and they don't have the desire to either. If you reduce your waste to zero, the Government is still going to charge you rates for collecting the waste you aren't generating. I have tested this, both in Canada and UK. It's a racket.

[ian16th]

Not having a sharp impliment on me,

This only happens if I am SLF on an a/c.

I always carry a Swiss Army knife in my left trouser/shorts pocket.

I never know when I might need a corkscrew or a bottle opener

[Pontius Navigator]

Fox, businesses have to use commercial waste transfer contractors. No waste, no fee. The problem is they pass the packaging to us.

Now if, having checked out, we unpacked everything before leaving the store. Plastic wrapped cans would be a good start.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

There are simple, straightforward solutions to all these problems, many of which are the ones our grandparents used. The argument for extra packaging for consumer convenience goes out the window as soon as the consumer has to bring their own (reusable) bags and boxes to the store anyway.
I am fortunately able to see more of how the process should work, given that PEI has about the highest recycling rate on the Planet, and most of the locally owned stores still run the way their grandparents ran them, in several stores because grandparents are still running them!
Nails, for instance, are still sold by the pound and put into paper bags. And they will sell you 12 nails if that's all you need. Most stuff that comes off long rolls, like housewrap and piping, is sold at almost the same price per foot in small sections as it is per whole drum. They have all the big quantities anyway, since they supply commercial contractors, so it's no trouble to them. You can still get a bubble pack if you like.

The essence of recycling is not to 'cycle' in the first place by only getting what you need. The entire approach of almost every large company is to sell as much as possible. Almost every kind of deal, from 2-4-1 through only doing family-sizes, and big discounts on only slightly larger quantities, goes against every principle of the sustainability that big companies claim to be promoting. Stuff that falls apart the day after the short warranty finishes is the worst of all. I've taken apart some failed stuff recently. In many cases, the cost of making the product last at least twice as long is pennies, a tiny fraction of 1% of the cost to the consumer. It barely saves the original manufacturer 2%, but thanks to highly predatory practices by big conglomerates' buyers, this is probably life-or-death to that original small manufacturer.

[Pontius Navigator]

The mantra is Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

In my last job I noticed that of the components of a practice bomb, black nose, blue body, aluminium slug the slug was frequently still in the body and on many occasions the body was undamaged. Only the black nose was missing; never found any trace.

I contacted the company about reuse and never had a reply.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Approx 1/3 of all food sold goes to waste.
If the big grocers achieve perfection and fix that, they'll sell 1/3 less food, which with fixed costs may mean 40% less profit. Go ask a council if they are willing to cut business rates by 40%.

[Pontius Navigator]

I do wonder where BOGOF fits in the profit line.

Our Coop often has Any 2 for £3. This suits us perfectly as we could get 2x150g packs of berries for breakfast saving £1 per shot. No waste.

At the same time they sold 300g of one of the berries for £3.50. Curiously people paid 50p more.

You needed to keep an eye out as the 150g packs sometimes were reduced to 125g.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

BOGOFs, unless they are loss leaders for big events in the calendar, have a gross profit margin of over 100%, so they are making money even giving you 50% off. By doing a BOGOF, they lose profit margin, but make twice that amount from each customer since you buy two, compared to giving you 50% off a single one. It's a useful technique where there is a large amount of product to shift quickly, such as something approaching its sell-by date. They may have got this dirt-cheap from the manufacturer/wholesaler, rather than it being their own stuff that's been on the shelves a while.
Shrinkflation with packet sizes, bumping the price up straight after Christmas when nobody buys stuff so they can then offer a supposedly massive discount in February, sneaking the price up on paired products (e.g. 50p off pasta sauce, pasta up by 50p); these are all routine cons these days.

[Pontius Navigator]

The biggest con is UPTO, one item at 75% and the rest bugger all.

We have a friend food factory near us. They sell off supermarket meat after the supermarket sell by date for a big discount. The food is prepared to order but if the supermarket cuts back the daily orders there is a surplus.

Our dog dines on chicken. Cheaper than dog food: contains more meat.

[G-CPTN]

The biggest con is UPTO, one item at 75% and the rest bugger all.

The nearby-town department store has been struggling under current ownership for three years (including a CVA whereby the landlord offered 70% reduced rents - that is they paid only 30% - and the council gave a rates 'holiday') during which they have been advertising large discounts on large-letter banners across the whole of the outside of the store. The previous six-generation owners (from 1818) went into administration in 2010.

Once inside (it's usually deserted with very few customers) you discover that the departments are various 'concessions' and when you examine the prices they are often higher than previously when there wasn't a sale on or that particular concession isn't taking part in the price reductions - in other words the banners are only to attract people to go inside.

It all ends in September when the lease expires and the whole store closes down.
The sole post office in the town (there used to be a Crown post offive and three sub post offices) is currently within the food department, so a town of 12,000 residents and the market town for the surrounding rural area of 60,000 inhabitants will lose its only post office.

[larsssnowpharter]

Until about 10 years ago, our subdivision in the Philippines had an unusual method of garbage collection. A truck would come around on the annointed day and would, for a few pesos, buy our rubbish. Plastic bags, I know, were washed and woven into things like place mats.

As a kid, I spent a fair amount of time on my grandparent's small farm in the border country in Ireland. There was no rubbish collection.

Any food waste went to the pigs or chickens. Newspapers were used to wrap apples and store them in the attic.

Bottles and such were re-used. Any other waste (and there wasn't a lot, we had three labradors) was put in a burning pit near the orchard.

[Pontius Navigator]

Any food waste went to the pigs or chickens.

. That was the norm in the War and for a time afterwards. That came to a stop, possibly for disease reasons. It could not be restarted as some one would put razor blades or lithium batteries in the waste.

[G-CPTN]

Any food waste went to the pigs or chickens.

. That was the norm in the War and for a time afterwards. That came to a stop, possibly for disease reasons. It could not be restarted as some one would put razor blades or lithium batteries in the waste.

Our county council (I'm talking 1940s and early 1950s) had their own farms and collected the uneaten (!) food and scraps from school dinners to feed the pigs. Our school had large 'pig bins' like industrial-sized dustbins.
As has been mentioned, Foot and Mouth disease brought that to an end.

During World War II collection of pig swill was a nationwide campaign in Great Britain.
During the 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak it was thought that unprocessed pig swill was a key link in the chain of the infection, and it was banned in Great Britain.
In 2003 the ban was expanded to the whole European Union.

[larsssnowpharter]

I'm just about old enough to remember the Station Pig Farm.

[ExSp33db1rd]

At the same time they sold 300g of one of the berries for £3.50. Curiously people paid 50p more.

Common practice in Supermarkets, one has to enter knowing that "they" are trying to rip you off one way or another. I frequently buy a 500gm packet ( cellophane "paper" not plastic, but is that any better ? ) of nuts, raisins and assorted tidbits, which is more convenient than shoveling various varieties from bulk bins into separate plastic bags and having them individually weighed, but the price varies from $5 to $13. I refuse to believe that they are making a loss at $5, albeit less profit, so the extra $8 is pure rip off. I don't buy, stuffem.

Our local Caltex and B.P. petrol stations daily "give" 6c/litre off the pump price, regardless of any other price fluctuation - which go up and down like a whores drawers - but only to holders of a certain "Loyalty" card, and only for a minimum purchase up to a stated maximum purchase. At least once a week I am "personally" e-mailed with an offer of 12c off, but only for my specific, identified by number, card, then I have to remember to redeem the rebate before the end of the next calendar month. I do nothing else but try to keep tabs on the fuel gauge, related to the day of the week, and time of the month. WTF can't "they" just knock 10c/litre all the time and have done with all the publicity and cost etc. associated with the loyalty card. I have better things to do with my time, but feel obliged to avoid being ripped off otherwise.

[Rwy in Sight]

I tend to concentrate on Price per Kilo/litre unless I just want to get the taste of the product. In that case I buy the cheaper one but it is definitely more expensive in a per kilo base.

And when something is on offer "I sleep over it". If on the next day I still wanted I buy it. Regarding fidelity schemes if I meant to buy the product even in the near future, I may / will move the purchase forward to take advantage of the offer.

[Sisemen]

Ballantine’s scotch - 2x700 cl bottles cheaper than 1x 1lr bottle Cashier once asked me if it wouldn’t be easier in a 1 ltr bottle. Seem very bemused when I told her why.

[Pontius Navigator]

I'm just about old enough to remember the Station Pig Farm.

Thanks for the memory. They certainly were a dim memory in my bachelor days but the St Mawgan farm flourished in 1974. I think it was a couple of the old farmers who ran a shop from a shed somewhere near the taxi way.

[Pontius Navigator]

Is cellophane more ecofriendly than plastic wrap and plastic bags? A: Cellophane is derived from natural sources such as wood, while plastic wrap is made from oil. Unlike plastic, cellophane can't be recycled, but it is biodegradable, so it can be composted or sent to a landfill in the regular garbage.12 Oct 2017
https://www.sierraclub.org › ask-mr-green

So there you have it. So can you recognise cellophane from plastic wrap?

Pretty clearly the sealed cover on packaged meat is plastic. Is the more brittle wrap around plastic soft fruit boxes cellophane? What about the clear cover sealed like meat dishes, it it cellophane.