I had just dumped 2 ½ pounds of Aldi’s ground beef from the tray into the frying pan. I started to toss the tray in the trash, but I just couldn’t. The tray was as solid as any piece of Tupperware, and it still had many uses. So, I washed it and later used it as a container for a Pea Salad I was making for the family I cook for. They could toss it if they wished, but at least I had salvaged a perfectly good container for another use.
I remember back in the late 50s, when a company advertised their product with a reusable plastic container. It may have been for luncheon meats, but it sold like hotcakes because we had never seen such as that. Reusable?
Now, almost every package we buy could be reusable but ends up in the trash. I often save bread bags because they are sturdy, and you can put many things in them and not have to use a Zip-Loc.
I am by no means a tree hugger or a hoarder, but when I see how much trash we have for just the two of us, it’s disturbing.
I have found other uses for those sturdy meat trays – they are great for potting soil to start indoor plants. You can use them as storage containers in a garage or workshop. You can microwave them and freeze them and get plenty of use out of what was meant to be disposable.
I usually use Press and Seal to cover and seal the trays, but if someone would invent a top that fitted snuggly on those trays, now that would be something. Nancy fusses at me that I have all these black trays socked away, but you never know when you might need a good container.
