The Ethical Consumer - Buying a Fridge

Refrigerators help us keep our food fresher longer and also reduce the amount of food waste. It's also important to choose a model that is energy efficient. Read the Ethical Consumer online buyers' guide for more information.

In a lot of communities across the UK Community fridges are an important place for social interaction to stop food from being wasted and bringing people together. The network is run by Hubbub.

Keeps food fresher for longer

A fridge can serve as an important hub in your home and reduce food waste. You can maximize storage and locate items quickly and save money on energy by choosing the right fridge for your space. Refrigerators come in various shapes and sizes, so consider the features that are important to you prior to buying.

Certain brands offer additional storage options like an ice-cream drawer, a salad crisper and large fish and meat compartments that optimize the levels of humidity for different food items. Some fridges use innovative technology, such as Beko’s HarvestFresh Light Tech, which replicates the natural daylight cycle within the crisper, which helps keep vegetables fresher longer. Some fridges, like those from Siemens or Samsung can allow you to monitor the contents remotely using an application, so that you aren't running out of food.

Differently stacking your shopping can influence how long your food stays fresh, since different kinds of food thrive at slightly different temperatures. Sort your food according to how you cook it and how often it's eaten. This will help you identify what you're running low on, and plan your next shopping trip.

Community fridges & freezers are fantastic ways to bring people together in a community, stop good food from being wasted and to meet new people. These fridges are run by volunteers and open to all, regardless of whether they have access to their own food or not. Food can be donated by supermarkets and local food producers and businesses, as well as households and gardens. They can then be used to hold cooking and growing classes, and provide a space for socialising and chatting.

Savings on food bills

Refrigerators consume a lot energy. You can save money by buying an energy-efficient model. Fridges with a two-rate system (N cents/KW-h in the evening and 3N cents/KW/h during the day) will save you even more money. Hubbub coordinates the Community fridge freezer Network which brings together groups that run more than 700 refrigerators in the UK. It's an excellent way to meet new people to share food and prevent fresh produce from going to waste.

Reduces food waste

Food waste is among the biggest problems facing the planet, a third of all food items that are produced for human consumption go unnoticed or wasted. This is mostly food items that must be refrigerated, like fresh meat, fish dairy products, as well as the majority of vegetables and fruits. This includes food that is expired or is due to expire. Refrigerators are a major factor in reducing food waste because they allow you to keep perishable foods at their peak for a longer time.

The ability of a fridge to regulate temperature is a key factor in prolonging the shelf life of food items. It is important to monitor the temperature of your fridge on a regular basis and adjust the thermostat when necessary. This will ensure your fridge is keeping food at the correct temperature to avoid spoilage and extend shelf life.

Fridges are central liminal spaces that structure, provide examples, encourage and aid in human ethical behavior in relation to food waste (Evans Citation2014). This is especially evident in household refrigerators where food waste is a common occurrence in the context of routines and habits of consumption. Several factors contribute to this waste that are a result of the misinterpretation of date labels, impulse buying during supermarket visits; and an overall lack of awareness of the need to limit food loss (Milne and best Fridge uk co. Citation2012).

Okayama and Watanabe organized meetings for volunteers to discuss this issue with residents of an apartment building named Sky Heights. They gave a short lecture on the issue and then introduced an array of "nudge" interventions that were designed to gently guide people towards positive behavioural decisions without requiring huge commitments. They used smarter fridge and freezer organization techniques, such as creating an area or shelf for food items that are near expiration and using labels or tape to label them. They also distributed clear, plastic trays that make spoiling food items more visible.

As a result of these efforts, residents of Sky Heights were significantly more likely to make use of their freezers and donate surplus food to local community fridges. These are open to the public and allow anyone to access food items that would otherwise be wasted. Community fridges have been proven to reduce food waste, and the carbon footprint associated with it. They are supported by a UK-wide network of organizations, including Hubbub.

Reduces carbon footprint

Refrigerators are in operation all the time and consume a lot of energy. There are refrigerators that are more energy efficient and run on solar power. This can make a difference to your energy costs and reduce your carbon footprint. It is difficult to estimate the exact carbon footprint of a refrigerator as it depends on countless factors. This includes the size of the fridge freezer, how frequently you open and shut the door, ambient temperature, and the use of the best fridge Uk light.

Community fridges are another way to reduce your carbon footprint. They redistribute surplus food from local stores, businesses, and even households. They are a great tool to reduce food waste, which accounts for 1/3 of global greenhouse gas emissions. The community fridge freezer sale uk network is coordinated by Hubbub, which connects all UK local groups that run community fridges.

Supermarkets also strive to reduce their carbon footprint by replacing HFC refrigerants by using greener ones. There are also initiatives to create solar-powered refrigerators that could become part of a global system of "food cold chains" which could help to reduce climate change.