Hello from Bristol

We love hearing from you, so here is your chance. Introduce yourself and tell us what makes you selfsufficient 'ish'. Go on don't be shy, we welcome one and all. You can also tell us how you heard about us if you like.
soultruth
margo - newbie
margo - newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:31 am

Hello from Bristol

Post: # 219961Post soultruth »

Hi there,

I'm Ray, new to this site and very happy I found it. My plan is to give 'bin-raiding' a bash for the year and wondered if anyone had any top tips to share with me. I live in central Bristol and have popped into a couple of stores to ask directly where they dispose of the out of date food. M&S were very forthcoming, no use, but very forthcoming! They send it all off in a lorry in the middle of the night to 'a warehouse for sorting' whatever that means.

The young girl I asked in T***o metro in the centre of town looked like a rabbit caught in headlights and mumbled something about not knowing anything about things like that..

The lady in the co op tried to sell me almost out of date mince pies for 10p but couldnt tell me where the food goes...

A young bloke in Tecso Metro in Corn St got all militant like he thought I was a mystery shopper testing him somehow. It was all very surreal.

I hear some shops spray the food with bleach or dye ..? Surely not?!!

Any help / shared stories very much appreciated!

God bless.

Ray

User avatar
Green Aura
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 9313
Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2008 8:16 pm
latitude: 58.569279
longitude: -4.762620
Location: North West Highlands

Re: Hello from Bristol

Post: # 219965Post Green Aura »

Hi Ray and welcome to Ish :wave:
Maggie

Never doubt that you can change history. You already have. Marge Piercy

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage. Anais Nin

stevetc
Jerry - Bit higher than newbie
Jerry - Bit higher than newbie
Posts: 44
Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 6:12 pm
Location: Somerset

Re: Hello from Bristol

Post: # 219971Post stevetc »

Hi there,
I'm almost as new an shiny, but hello anyway.
If you're doing this in bristol, you will find that the supermarkets lock their bins. Some bleach or otherwise destroy food but not all. You will need a skip key . . . Conveniently the same as the key used to unlock an outdoor electric meter box, costs about a quid from hardware shops. And try not to get caught by security!
It is do-able, though, and almost a shame not to, especially this time of year when there's so much xmas waste. . .

User avatar
battybird
A selfsufficientish Regular
A selfsufficientish Regular
Posts: 655
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2007 7:05 pm
Location: Kent / central portugal

Re: Hello from Bristol

Post: # 219989Post battybird »

Hi Ray and welcome to ish :wave:
The cockerel makes the noise, the hen produces the goods!! anon

User avatar
Milims
A selfsufficientish Regular
A selfsufficientish Regular
Posts: 4390
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2006 9:06 pm
Location: North East

Re: Hello from Bristol

Post: # 220006Post Milims »

Hi there and welcome :wave:
Let us be lovely
And let us be kind
Let us be silly and free
It won't make us famous
It won't make us rich
But damn it how happy we'll be!
Edward Monkton


Member of the Ish Weight Loss Club since 10/1/11 Started at 12st 8 and have lost 8lb so far!

okra
Living the good life
Living the good life
Posts: 379
Joined: Sat Jan 05, 2008 4:27 pm
latitude: 35.0
longitude: 33.4
Location: Kent, England
Contact:

Re: Hello from Bristol

Post: # 220020Post okra »

Hello, welcome and happy ishing

User avatar
AngeB
Tom Good
Tom Good
Posts: 99
Joined: Sun Jul 11, 2010 8:48 pm
Location: Bristol, England

Re: Hello from Bristol

Post: # 220032Post AngeB »

Hiya, from a fellow Brizzolian :wave:

I don't know much about food from supermarkets, but I do know there's a company called FareShare, which has a branch in Bristol. They rescue rejected food from supermarkets and manufacturers and redistribute it to charities that work with people in need (like the homeless cafe, the goose something or other - sorry I don't remember the name, samaritans etc) - so perhaps that's what M&S meant when they said it went to a warehouse for sorting. Good luck though - I really hope they're not still wasting it all with bleach!!
I changed my signature because it was rubbish; I like what you said

stevetc
Jerry - Bit higher than newbie
Jerry - Bit higher than newbie
Posts: 44
Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2011 6:12 pm
Location: Somerset

Re: Hello from Bristol

Post: # 220053Post stevetc »

AngeB - the wild goose?
Ray - it's moved recently to stapleton road, by rijanis . . . It's not free anymore, but you can get a good meal for about £1.50.

MuddyWitch
A selfsufficientish Regular
A selfsufficientish Regular
Posts: 2460
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:13 pm
latitude: 52.643985
longitude: -1.052939
Location: Leicester, uk, but heading to Ireland

Re: Hello from Bristol

Post: # 220103Post MuddyWitch »

Welcome to ISH :flower:

Maybe you'd have better luck at the 'corner shop' type places? Not so much stuff each day, but still not allowed to sell after the 'sell-by' & much more likely to gift stuff, especially if you bought a few cheap things each time.

Our local green grocer sells 'bunny bags' at 10p a go. That's a carrier bag full of food waste that he would otherwise have to pay to dispose of. Sometimes they are full of spoiled cabbage leaves, but often you can rescue a good soup or stew from the damaged carrots, onions & bananas etc. As I'm a regular he gives me all that haven't sold each Saturday evening. (Even if it's not fit to eat it's extra on my compost heap)

MW
If it isn't a Greyhound, it's just a dog!

User avatar
spider8
A selfsufficientish Regular
A selfsufficientish Regular
Posts: 803
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 9:44 am
Location: Orkney, Scotland.

Re: Hello from Bristol

Post: # 220278Post spider8 »

Hello and welcome Ray :wave:
Life's a bitch and then you diet.

User avatar
Millymollymandy
A selfsufficientish Regular
A selfsufficientish Regular
Posts: 17637
Joined: Tue May 10, 2005 6:09 am
Location: Brittany, France

Re: Hello from Bristol

Post: # 220283Post Millymollymandy »

Hi and welcome!
boboff wrote:Oh and just for MMM, :hugish: (thanks)
http://chateaumoorhen.blogspot.com/

soultruth
margo - newbie
margo - newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:31 am

Re: Hello from Bristol

Post: # 220368Post soultruth »

Hi everyone and thanks for the warm welcome and top tips! I'm off on my first mission in the morning. Tes<o at the bottom of Baldwin St... I'll need to be there at 6am when they chuck the out of date stuff from the day before out, but I'm up early and it's 100 yards from where I live. I'll report back!

The 'local shop' idea is another good one thanks - I'll ask about on Gloucester rd in my lunch break tomorrow.

All the best,

Ray

cocobelle
Barbara Good
Barbara Good
Posts: 147
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2010 12:59 pm

Re: Hello from Bristol

Post: # 222279Post cocobelle »

Hi Ray,
W***trose in Henleaze has excellent bins to furrage in, maesure you go after the store is closed. I know several people who go there frequently. Good Luck!
Organic Baby Clothes made with natural, sustainable fabrics.

cocobelle
Barbara Good
Barbara Good
Posts: 147
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2010 12:59 pm

Re: Hello from Bristol

Post: # 223279Post cocobelle »

BTW I have spoken to these people since and apparently thre are other good places such as in Morrison's in Fishponds. Only problem is even though it is a huge waste of food and is headed for the trash - it is still deemed stealing do that may be why you got evasive answers from the stores you asked. They do it at night.
Organic Baby Clothes made with natural, sustainable fabrics.

happyhippy
A selfsufficientish Regular
A selfsufficientish Regular
Posts: 664
Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 5:28 pm

Re: Hello from Bristol

Post: # 223282Post happyhippy »

Hi Ray and welcome!My OH works for a supermarket chain(in the warehouse)and yes they did used to leave their waste bins unlocked,infact had done so for years.Unfortunately due to the media coverage of people taking food for free,the supermarkets became aware of the problem and have started locking their bins!I think its a crying shame myself,when you see what they throw out.Did anyone watch "The People's Supermarket"the other night?Well the chef who has started the supermarket cooked a whole meal from supermarket waste bins,which did'nt surprise me.

Post Reply