Stealing food from supermarket dustbins.
Discussion
I was a voluntary driver for a food distribution charity and was amazed just how reluctant many of the bigger supermarkets were, to donate food that would otherwise become landfill. Even when we would offer to collect it, return any pallets etc, it was still seen as being a hassle they could do without.
I think that binning food because of 'best before dates' is far worse than someone taking it from a bin to eat themselves. Prosecuting them is a waste of time and money.
I think that binning food because of 'best before dates' is far worse than someone taking it from a bin to eat themselves. Prosecuting them is a waste of time and money.
Total waste of money and time, value taken £33 what will it cost to process this case.
It highlights the plight some people are in, and the sooner our bloody government stops giving our money away to other countries and help our country the better.
£27 MILLION to India, to support their space race, this year over £3 BILLION between Dubail California and the Bahamas in connection with the Eco levels.
Even co discerning giving money to Argentina, what a f
ked up country we live in.
It highlights the plight some people are in, and the sooner our bloody government stops giving our money away to other countries and help our country the better.
£27 MILLION to India, to support their space race, this year over £3 BILLION between Dubail California and the Bahamas in connection with the Eco levels.
Even co discerning giving money to Argentina, what a f
ked up country we live in.Its mainly come down on hard due to the compensation culture of freegans that believe full well that if they get ill off any of the food they steal they can sue the supermarket/land owner.
Hence many have locks on and if caught dumpster diving they prosecute everytime.
Even more amusing is the fact that supermarkets used to hand out waste food willingly, until someone got a dodgy stomach and sucessfully sued them for food posioning, it was then deemed that anything out of date or past its sell by date was not allowed to give to people and must be disposed of.
Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.
Hence many have locks on and if caught dumpster diving they prosecute everytime.
Even more amusing is the fact that supermarkets used to hand out waste food willingly, until someone got a dodgy stomach and sucessfully sued them for food posioning, it was then deemed that anything out of date or past its sell by date was not allowed to give to people and must be disposed of.
Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.
Du1point8 said:
Even more amusing is the fact that supermarkets used to hand out waste food willingly, until someone got a dodgy stomach and sucessfully sued them for food posioning, it was then deemed that anything out of date or past its sell by date was not allowed to give to people and must be disposed of.
Remember the days when supermarkets used to have free cardboard box areas. Until someone decided they were a fire hazard and spoilt children's fun 
hora said:
Someones going to lose here and be embarrased. all it'll take is a firm of Solicitors to offer on a no-win fee basis to put up a good argument..
Its in the bin- its discarded, its unwanted rubbish. Its intentionally left outside unsecured (UNLESS the bins have a keylock/forced) Whose property is it? Is it REALLY black and white.
Its the grey-area the CPS will lose on.
It is not my area of law so please take this as opinion rather than absolute fact as I do not have time to verify fully but I am 99.999% sure that, yes it really is black and white and the CFA lawyer will be lucky to find any half arsed legal argument except in a very few areas, and even then it is unlikely they will win.Its in the bin- its discarded, its unwanted rubbish. Its intentionally left outside unsecured (UNLESS the bins have a keylock/forced) Whose property is it? Is it REALLY black and white.
Its the grey-area the CPS will lose on.
In law there is no difference between you putting your Ice Scraper and bottle of DeIcer outside your front door and putting out your rubbish. With the one it is your property that you have put out there to be collected by a third party on your behalf, at which point title will pass to the contracted third party, with the other you have put it out there so you can grab it without having to unlock the house, get the garage keys, find the bloody things and then deice your car.
You'd be pissed if your scraper and deicer was missing in the morning (although doubtless acknowledge that your were risking theft of these) and it is the same with YOUR rubbish.
ETA - see theft from skips.
e21Mark said:
I was a voluntary driver for a food distribution charity and was amazed just how reluctant many of the bigger supermarkets were, to donate food that would otherwise become landfill. Even when we would offer to collect it, return any pallets etc, it was still seen as being a hassle they could do without.
I can well imagine them having all sorts of concerns about it. I remember a news item about a breakfast cereal manufacturer who was giving stuff to an animal charity and found it was being sold in markets.hora said:
Someones going to lose here and be embarrased. all it'll take is a firm of Solicitors to offer on a no-win fee basis to put up a good argument..
Its in the bin- its discarded, its unwanted rubbish. Its intentionally left outside unsecured (UNLESS the bins have a keylock/forced) Whose property is it? Is it REALLY black and white.
Its the grey-area the CPS will lose on.
You don't win a legal case by being right, you win it by argument in law.Its in the bin- its discarded, its unwanted rubbish. Its intentionally left outside unsecured (UNLESS the bins have a keylock/forced) Whose property is it? Is it REALLY black and white.
Its the grey-area the CPS will lose on.
The law is an ass
mattnunn said:
A the very least it should go to feed the pigs, remember the old days when the slop man would come around? (When I say old days it was 2005 and I was in Beijing)
I wouldn't feed it to pigs to be honestBio digesters is probably the best as you get fertiliser and electricty out of them
I find this one a bit tricky - I'm against the items being binned and thrown to landfill when people on limited budgets or in need could benefit from them but at the same time I'm not sure I like the idea of the ' freegan' movement gaining popularity and people with the ability to buy items taking them from bins instead. The food should be redistributed and supermarkets given penalties for wasting things just because they need wiping clean when one item in a box splits open or a single egg breaks and the whole box is chucked out.
I suppose the problem is that there will always be someone who thinks they deserve the stuff as much as someone it's donated to or just people fighting for a particular (often worthy) cause who choose this approach to try and make a difference.
I'm just not convinced the CPS chasing these individuals is in the public interest, chasing those creating the waste in the first place and reducing it would be more valid.
I suppose the problem is that there will always be someone who thinks they deserve the stuff as much as someone it's donated to or just people fighting for a particular (often worthy) cause who choose this approach to try and make a difference.
I'm just not convinced the CPS chasing these individuals is in the public interest, chasing those creating the waste in the first place and reducing it would be more valid.
It is a great shame that wasted food isn't just given to food banks and soup kitchens. I have no problem with people eating thrown out food who genuinely need it. However, this guy isn't one of these people.
He is a squatter who does freelance (i.e pays no tax)web-design. He broke into private property because he didn't want to pay for food. I hope that they throw the book at him.
He is a squatter who does freelance (i.e pays no tax)web-design. He broke into private property because he didn't want to pay for food. I hope that they throw the book at him.
Galsia said:
It is a great shame that wasted food isn't just given to food banks and soup kitchens. I have no problem with people eating thrown out food who genuinely need it. However, this guy isn't one of these people.
He is a squatter who does freelance (i.e pays no tax)web-design. He broke into private property because he didn't want to pay for food. I hope that they throw the book at him.
Freelancers pay tax.He is a squatter who does freelance (i.e pays no tax)web-design. He broke into private property because he didn't want to pay for food. I hope that they throw the book at him.
The charity I drove for (Fareshare) would invite applications from housing projects, refuges etc and they would be deemed as being suitable / deserving or not. I must say, the projects I delivered food too personally, all appeared justified and extremely grateful. Should donations find their way into market stalls and the like, those concerned would be prosecuted. Cafe's that specifically feed the homeless, were also supplied. In fact, I believe Fareshare themselves won some sort of award for their help in reducing waste and giving aid where it was needed. I think the general public would prefer that 'waste' of this type, were managed by being donated to a charity like this, than it simply being thrown in a skip.
Ozzie Osmond said:
That may be what you think but under UK law you are wrong. Taking stuff from someone's bin is theft.
Then that needs a re-think. Theft requires an 'intention to permanently deprive'.Surely by the time you've put something in your bin, you've made it clear that you've an intention to permanently deprive yourself of that item, so shouldn't have an interest in what anyone else does with it.
It's not tricky, it's not complicated and it's not some sort of moral issue.
7 million tonnes of edible food is discarded in the UK every year for whatever reasons. If people are happy to eat it then the only problem is the attitude of the nanny state and the supermarket's fear of SHEQ.
If a multi pack of crisps bursts, they'll skip the whole bag even though all of the contents are still sealed!
7 million tonnes of edible food is discarded in the UK every year for whatever reasons. If people are happy to eat it then the only problem is the attitude of the nanny state and the supermarket's fear of SHEQ.
If a multi pack of crisps bursts, they'll skip the whole bag even though all of the contents are still sealed!
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