Dumpster divers say too much is going to waste from New Zealand supermarkets

Tuesday, 31 July 2018

Dumpster diving is illegal, but those who do it say it's just food going to waste.

Dumpster divers from Wellington and Auckland say they've saved thousands of dollars on scavenged food.

But the food waste from supermarkets is a 'broken system' as some families can't afford to shop, they say.

Wellington resident James Harris said he would dumpster dive with flatmates in Auckland every Monday night, and they called it 'shopping night'.

Once they found thousands of salami sticks, another night hundreds of Ferrero Rocher chocolates, and another time, about 150 bottles of beer, he said.

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'One [bottle] would be broken, and they'd dump the whole thing.'

Love Food Hate Waste have claimed every year Kiwis send 122,547 tonnes of edible food to landfill, but dumpster diving is considered theft in New Zealand.

Some New Zealand supermarkets are locking their bins to stop divers taking the food.

In 2013, six men in their 20s were arrested after being caught taking expired food from a supermarket skip in Blenheim.

But Harris said they were never confronted, and were asked to just move on.

A Wellington resident would dumpster dive for $300-$400 worth of food in one night, with some of it being a year out from the expiry date.

They often found no clear reason why the food was chucked, he said.

'We didn't believe there'd be that much waste, but when we did it [dumpster diving] we couldn't believe how much we found.

'We realised how much the system is broken. There's so many people hungry.'

They'd end up with $100-$200 worth of food a night, he said.

The flatmates would avoid shopping entirely, because they realised they could get food for free, he said.

Wellington resident Arlo Edwards said food he found in bins was fine, and he would also look for dumped art materials.

'Dumpster diving has been around as long as there has been dumpsters.

'In my time I have seen young men in suits praising their lucky stars as they pull parts from computers.'

Waste was a byproduct of 'throw-away society', he said.

He'd seen entire companies toss their liquidated stock 'piled to the brim', he said.

'I have seen literal tonnes of food barely past its use by date.'

A former Wellington resident said she would dumpster dive with friends when she was at university to save money, but also to give to friends and families who needed it.

'There is perfectly good food going to waste … a hungry belly's going to sleep empty.'

Kaibosh general manager Matt Dagger said Kaibosh Food Rescue did not condone nor advocate dumpster diving, and worked with supermarkets to ensure quality surplus food reached those in need rather than being needlessly discarded.

They would end up with about $200-$400 worth of food each time, she said.

Everyone they gave to knew where the food came from and they felt positive to be helping the community, she said.

A Wellington resident said his flatmate didn't shop for food for 15 weeks because they were able to find all their food for free in dumpsters. (File photo).

'The families we gave to often relied on this food … without dumpster food their whānau would go hungry.'

The friends would dumpster dive together once a week. There was always better food dumped on a Saturday night, she said.

It was easy to find food which was perfectly fine, she said.

'[The] majority was a day or so out from the best before, then there was some things that were a day or so over the best before but still perfectly edible.'

A Foodstuffs spokeswoman said many Pak 'n Save, New World and Four Square stores locked their bins as part of their health and safety protocols.

'We appreciate some people see dumpster diving as a way of accessing free food, and while we acknowledge some items may still be edible, there are significant health risks associated with such an activity and we strongly recommend against it.'

Stores commonly endeavoured to sell before the best-before date, she said.

'An efficiently-run store doesn't have a great deal of food waste.'

In the last 12 months, they donated the equivalent of four million meals to food rescue organisations and food banks, she said.

A Countdown spokeswoman said dumpster diving was considered trespass and theft.

'Waste bins are located on supermarket property. However, more importantly, it's actually also unsafe to take food from waste bins.'

A product may look OK to eat, but it could have been recalled or compromised at some point, she said.

Countdown has a goal of zero food waste by 2020.

Kaibosh general manager Matt Dagger said his food rescue business did not condone nor advocate dumpster diving.

They were aware food waste remained an environmental and social challenge in New Zealand, he said.

'[Kaibosh] takes a proactive approach to working with supermarkets to ensure quality surplus food reaches those in need, rather than being needlessly discarded.'