Highlights of My Year Dumpster Diving to Reveal Supermarkets' Dirty Secrets

[@matthomewood5485]

Hi everyone, Thanks to everybody who has shown an interest in the Food Waste Fiasco! What a pleasure it was to make this video with my friends Rob Greenfield & Daniel Saddleton. The fight goes on here in Denmark. Some friends & I are now organising a campaign taking a place this summer to shine a light on Denmark's Supermarket Food Waste Scandal. Let's envision a fairer, more sustainable Food System! Warm greetings to you all, Matt

[@thewiseturtle]

In the US, at least in all of the places I've lived, we have food pantries that collect waste food from the supermarkets and give it away for free to anyone who wants it. Unfortunately it's usually empty calorie "food" like pasta, bakery goods, cereals, and canned veggies. Though there is usually some produce at least, if it hasn't gone bad by the time it gets taken.

[@matthomewood5485]

@@thewiseturtle Same in the UK, the food bank system is rotten to the core. People should not have to rely on these poor diets. We need jobs. We need better wages. We need dignity. Food banks and social supermarkets only save 1% of total supermarket food waste in Denmark. It's a non-solution, even though the traditional media refuse to report on the data. It's an almighty struggle!

[@robenglish416]

And what do you do with all the food? Salvation army? I ordered food from a company that sell food that have short dates for consumption or were hard to sell (wrong brand, wrong packaging i.e. large or odd products in general) but after getting vermin’s in flour I’ve got fed up! Spread to other products in larder and took me a while to clean up!

[@matthomewood5485]

@@robenglish416 Unfortunately, here in Denmark, the fines for personal donations are around $1,200. So, I use what I can, give to friends and family, and then dump the rest. I'm a hypocrite too!

[@robenglish416]

@@matthomewood5485 fines?

[@GreenTea-Pose]

oh boy, I can tell you first hand how depressing it is being the person who has to throw out the food... I worked at Waitrose in the UK, and my job was to spend 8 hours going through every single fresh produce item, checking the sell by date, and reducing the stuff that was going off that day or the next day. Fresh produce includes everything from meat, to milk, to veg etc. As the day goes on the reduce price keeps going down in price to the point where, within the last hour/ half and hour, all items would be 10p - 50p and they still wouldn't sell! Every day I would have to throw anywhere between 1 tote to 1 small trolly worth of food into the bin (a tote is a plastic box used in supermarkets, and by small trolly I mean the ones you put a £1 in to use). I have had to stand there and throw things like 6 (perfectly okay to eat) tuna steaks into the bin with literally nothing I could do to prevent it... IT IS A HORRIBLE JOB. Taking the food ourselves was a sackable offence, and I couldn't buy everything myself because I'm not made of money (I was being paid pretty much minimum wage for only 2 days a week). AND I didn't have enough freezer space to keep all the random items. I would buy as much as I can myself and I basically lived off the reduced food; which 90% of the time would last a whole week after the sell by date... I worked real hard at that job because I felt I was single handedly responsible for ensuring our food waste was low - No items were missed and I reduced the items as cheaply as I could as early as I could. The problem is that the system decided what the price should be, not humans, and the system doesn't care about food waste, only profits. You need human common sense to decide how cheap something should be from taking into account how busy the shop is, visually how the product looks, the time of year/ season (e.g. gravy sells way better in winter/ around Christmas because people will probably use it the day or day after they buy it, so outside that season you need to reduce it fast and cheap). Sorry for venting but its a job that genuinely take a toll on your conscious, and kinda sticks with you. I was in London when working at this job, and I would pass homeless people whilst walking home after just throwing a trolly worth of meat, veg, sandwiches etc into a bin.

[@dazmaster22]

I feel that, a friend works for Amazon's grocery delivery service and he said he had days where he spent 10 hours emptying shelves of perfectly good food, far from the expiration date. He said he estimates throwing out around 100-200 kilos (220-440 pounds) of food a day sometimes, if it was particularly full that day. And, according to him, all times of day there were at least 2 or 3 people doing the same thing as him. Simply insane

[@matthomewood5485]

Hi @Matt B, thank you so much for sharing your experiences and insights. The people doing these jobs are not talked about nearly enough. Could I email you by any chance? I would love to speak to you more in-depth about your time at Waitrose. Thank you. Matt

[@matthomewood5485]

@@dazmaster22 Hi, thanks for your comment. It is so interesting to hear the human stories behind these mad company policies. Could I email you please? I read all DMs on Instagram (anurbanharvester). Thanks again. Matt

[@raggedy_esh]

Spot on!! 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[@GreenTea-Pose]

@@matthomewood5485 Sure, I'll message you on Instagram with my email. Happy to answer any questions you might have.

[@ArtichokeHunter]

This is how I lived on less than minimum wage in NYC. It's extra easy there because they just put trash bags on the curb before pickup, so you just open it up, take what you want, and tie the bags up again. Even nonperishables, like Scotch tape. And usually the good stuff is in separate bags from the actual trash so it's pretty easy.

[@matthomewood5485]

It's wild the food waste I see from NYC's dumpsters divers. I'm going to have to come on a trip just to see it for my own eyes....

[@YalisCommunity]

👏🏽

[@AndreaAvila78]

OMG! I had no idea!

[@kodo1232]

nice!!!! im gonna try that!!! yay

[@ArtichokeHunter]

@@kodo1232 I don't know how active they are now, but I used to go dumpster diving with the NYC Freegans (freegan.info) and folks there knew the best times to hit different stores' trash and all the tips. I stuck to Manhattan but I don't know about other groups/other areas.

[@AbbyS228]

This breaks my heart that there are people dying because they don’t have enough food and grocery stores would rather throw it away then give it to a starving person. 😔

[@dustinabc]

If a grocery store tried to give away the food they threw away, the owners would be fined and/or arrested for "endangering" people by giving them products deemed "unsafe" (past expiration)

[@matthomewood5485]

@@dustinabc Please stop spreading misleading information. Please look into this issue more deeply! "Grocery stores are protected from liability by The Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. This act was passed in 1996, and effectively waives stores of any liability should someone get sick from the food they donate. A University of Arkansas School of Law study shows that not a single lawsuit has ever been made against a grocery store, restaurant, or caterer that has donated food to a nonprofit. A large percentage of stores cite fear of liability as their reason for not donating food, but they truly are protected and history shows that the fear is unnecessary. Thousands of food rescue programs exist across the United States and many of them will actually pick up excess food." If you want to learn about more this issue, please read: www.robgreenfield.org/foodwastesolutions/

[@YalisCommunity]

Agree

[@matthomewood5485]

@@tonyblake7318 you're so right! Luckily the law already exists, see above!

[@gregorydaines]

It’s amazing that supermarkets can still profit with their outgoings and still trash this much food.

[@matthomewood5485]

It really goes to show how much of a markup they charge per product sold when they factor in all this waste and still make millions in profits.

[@spare9434]

They hardly pay the farmer or supplier, so they make profit like that

[@matthomewood5485]

@@spare9434 such a problematic business.

[@snewp90]

i heard some corporations don’t profit. they’re just controlled by the government to control people and control what they consume

[@ephemera5714]

Yeah, it's almost like food grows in abundance and we're getting ripped off.

[@theasianwitch]

Thank you for doing this...it's ridiculous the ways in which humans place value on food...I think it stems from a lack of understanding of where our food comes from which stems from a lack of connection with nature.

[@neverstoppulling5169]

That's exactly that. Whenever people eat a chicken nugget or hamburger they never for a split second even think about what animals had to sacrifice for them to eat

[@VenusVoice]

I need me more white friends so I can do stuff like this and not look crazy.

[@shayg.4897]

LOL

[@thegrinch0614]

😂😂😂😂

[@Woowie5542]

Bruh 😂💀

[@CreatingContent-ment]

Hahaha😂

[@sreykmao69]

I don't understand, if it expired but still good why not donate it food pantry or food bank? You can still do a lot with it.

[@matthomewood5485]

Volunteers can only do so much it seems. Here in Denmark, charities and food banks only recover 1% of supermarkets' annual food waste. It's a huge issue.

[@MrDave8539]

Walmart donates food to my local food shelf, they use the donation of almost spoiled food as a tax write off. After that most of the donations end up in my hands and I compost them and recycle a ridiculous amount of plastic. They also force the food shelf to take everything they are trying to get rid of and if they don’t the food shelf won’t get anything. It’s ok for the needy but awesome for Walmart. Today I composted a couple hundred pounds of fruits, veggies and sweet treats from Valentine’s Day.

[@MrDave8539]

@ALCHEMIST BEAUTY are you from Vermont as well?

[@MrDave8539]

@ALCHEMIST BEAUTY I’m in Duxbury, you?

[@eekisvreemd1986]

Food banks in the Netherlands (were i live) dont accept food past its date... i think because of legal reasons? Liability and all...

[@crazycritterlady8788]

40 yrs ago my boyfriend and I used to dumpster dive, we actually bought very little food and we gave some away to friends and neighbors who couldn't be caught dear doing what we did but we're happy to take our extras and even gave us lists of things to bring them! It got too crazy so we told them we stopped but we didn't we just took old shopping bags with us and brought home the Goode pretty bagged like the grocery store does. We did this till the laws came out making it illegal to dumpster dive! Now days we shop sales, markdown items and ask for goods for our "farm" animals. Things like produce that gets tossed out, bones & meat cuttings "for our dogs" from that we make a few things lard, bone broth (the dogs do get the bigger bones to chew on after we are done with them), stew from the small meat still clinging to the bones and fat. As far as the vegis go we harvest as much as we can for outselves (and the rest go to the chickens, rabbits, pigs etc), so we are not really lying when we ask for the trimmings for the animals. Much love from So.Cal.💟

[@matthomewood5485]

It's amazing how many stories I have heard like this, people have been doing this for decades. What cost to the planet... Still, at least, folks have made use of the remarkable waste...

[@crazycritterlady8788]

I wish it wasn't illegal here I'd still do it! But I do what I can and recycle everything my kids call me a horder! But I'd rather be prepared and safe than sorry! Where do you think those kids will go when they can't get anything from the store? My delete is do I let them clean me out of what it's taken me years and years to save up or do I turn them away to fend for themselves? Or third option give them enough for a few months and send them on their way because I know my kids they won't work as long as there free handouts available! Take care in your fight.

[@Galaxynotes70]

​@@crazycritterlady8788 huh? It's illegal to dumpster dive where you live? What country are you in, I live in Canada and it's legal to dumpster dive (unless it's on private property) That must really suck :(

[@crazycritterlady8788]

@Zuku y I live in Southern California in the USA. It's been illegal here to dumpster dive since since the early 80's. Dumpster diving is not illegal per se, but the act od "scavenging" is! Scavenging is defined as removing recyclable material from a recycling bin or container without the express authority of the premise owner and is prohibited by anyone other than the city approved recycling company and is considered an act of theft. Most municipalities will prosecute the violator of the law severely, the charges are scavenging, tresspassing, theft, littering, identity theft, and disorderly conduct. So I just don't bother anymore.

[@matthomewood5485]

@@crazycritterlady8788 It's so terrible to hear how this is the case in so many countries in the world...

[@duckyluver12]

You simply cannot do this in my city :( All the supermarkets have compactors for their garbage that are accessible only from inside the store and everything that gets tossed in is immediately squished and destroyed.

[@PetervanderPalm]

Here in the Netherlands we have the food bank for poor people. That is where the food surpluses go. It is strange that this is necessary in such a rich country. However, a lot of food is thrown away that is out of date. That food is also good for a while longer. I think it's good that you expose this problem in such a good way. Good luck in your fight for a better world.

[@miracleshappen4483]

How many animals were killed after being raised in slavery conditions to end up in a dumpster? 🦌🐮🐷

[@matthomewood5485]

11 billion a year from my calculations. 20% of all meat goes to waste on Planet Earth.

[@audrey2658]

all 56 billion of the land animals and the trillions of fish end up in a dumpster. the average meat eater.

[@VenusVoice]

😢

[@taipeipersonality]

More than 3

[@ScrapVulture111]

how many people are being killed by morons digging food from filthy garbage dumpsters and anonymously donated to thos ein need? If a business were caught storing food in those condiitons the owner would go to jail and the store doors would be chained shut. Food safelt/handling laws are in place because this sort of stuff KILLS people.

[@AdamShaiken]

Dumpster diving can also be lucrative !!! Believe it or else...choose your passion and the dumpsters will provide !!!

[@bridget_6892]

Nobody needs to go hungry. We need better systems.🙏💕❇️

[@growwithnature7209]

It is such a shame all that food goes to waste, a lot of places have made it illegal to dumpster dive now too. 😕 Would be wonderful if they would just set that food out at an accessible place for those who can use it instead of the dumpster! Love to see you bring awareness to this! Think of all the people we could feed instead of wasting this food! Personally I volunteer every 2 weeks to deliver food to others. If we all try to make a bit of difference it can all add up 🙂💚💚💚

[@miracleshappen4483]

Ideal option: grow and forage your own food, preferably plant based so we won't have people shooting at everything that moves. Stop buying from big chains but buy from local farmer markets or go directly to small farmers to buy it. Learn how to make your own eco-friendly products. Not only the food waste is a huge insult but the packaging used is a big problem for the eco-system. Either we change or Mother Earth will get rid of us with a sneeze! 🌎🙏💖

[@ceili]

This is what happens when capital gain is main driving force of our economies

[@dustinabc]

You're right! They have given us a society where so much is food is wasted and at the same time poverty levels are being reduced. What a miracle!

[@soyherrero]

Poverty levels have not been reduced, only extreme poverty levels and all it took was a pandemic to reverse that too.

[@pontiacmon]

Thanks for the reminder.

[@LSinclair]

Mind boggling. Shocking! Thank you so much for informing the world, gentlemen.

[@mariquiroz9523]

Wonderful information!!! 🙏🏽💞💫I too want to be part of the change!😃🌻💕

[@YalisCommunity]

Thanks for sharing this video. Supermarkets should have the product in a huge container that can be refill and customers be able to just bring there own containers and fill it up with the product just like Mom's organic market they have many items like this but not all. It would certainly be awesome to have isles with the product description and we can just choose exactly how much we want to take home. No more plastic, waste and unnecessary packaging.

[@DumpsterDivingMoe]

❤

[@desertdogscalifornia]

As someone who cares about the environment and struggles with money this is so discouraging. Here you can't really dumpster dive because all dumpsters are on private property. The most you can do is pick cans and bottles from park trash cans and exchange them for money to buy food.

[@lemontree9019]

Thank you

[@NanoSaxVegan]

This is incredible!!! Buddy, the next time you go out use a Cargo Bike!

[@xmetalgamerx]

I can’t explain the anger that rushed through my veins seeing that hunger statistic and the food waste statistic side by side. It really makes me want to help in any way I can.

[@mustwereallydothis]

Our town has recently began taking part in a program where we divert food that would otherwise be thrown away to feed farm animals and pets. Every week we pick up almost a full pick-up truck load of food. Our family goes to one grocery store once a week and picks up their waste food. There is always tons of bread, dairy and produce, which is fed to the chickens, pigs and pheasants. The dogs get the meat and most of the random grocery products goes to the pigs. There is always a little bit that we simply can't find a use for, but it's honestly a tiny amount of the total. We save a huge amount of money on feed and the animals, especially the dogs, are so much more healthy it's really quite hard to believe. Our 13 year old dog has even suddenly began playing again. It's been beautiful to watch. Every day of the week at every grocery store in our town and surrounding communities, there is another farm "harvesting" feed for their animals that would have otherwise been tossed in the dumpster. All it takes is one or two people willing to put the time and effort in to make it happen and you could have this kind of thing in your community.

[@Bb-eg8cx]

How you deal with flies, from all the farm animals and food?

[@r.glewis374]

It is sad to see such waste but some is also possibly recalled products that could be dangerous 😬, and divers may not be aware of the hazard of why it could be there in the first place.

[@matthomewood5485]

True, food recalls is definitely something divers must be wary of. If there is lots of the same food product that has been dumped out and it it well within its date, then all the alarm bells ought to be ringing. Look it up, there are great public services letting folks know about recalls. Recalls, though, represent a fraction of total supermarket food waste.

[@dustman96]

A friend of mine put himself through college, foodwise, almost completely on dumpster diving, and he ate pretty darn good.

[@aarontaylor6464]

Honestly at first my first impressions from the clipped video picture, I thought this was an extremes couponers video. Sadly, this is an ugly truth about waste, and greed by manufacturers and their corporate board members.

[@AdamShaiken]

That said, opening a dumpster and climbing in can be considered "disturbance of a refuse pile" and is a ticket earning offense. So, try to be considerate and get permission if possible. Frankly, I think that is idiocy and the criminal offense should be locking a food dumpster with edible food inside while hunger rages on !!!!

[@ohdannyboy4727]

Yeah where I live they lock up the dumpsters. They don't even let people harvest. The grocery stores don't wanna deal with it. Police and security get up in your business even when you explain that your trying to keep perfectly good food out of a landfill. The waste is just depressing to me.

[@matthomewood5485]

Goes to show how ludicrous our system is. This is trash that is about to be burnt and yet still many countries deem this private property. So absurd!

[@lucypearlmorgan3115]

Here in my state in the USA, it is legal to dumpster dive. But stores as a whole try to make difficult. Happy hunting and be safe!

[@matthomewood5485]

@@lucypearlmorgan3115 Yeah I remember MI being great for dumpster diving. It's so frustrating just how out their way they go to lock up their dumpsters / use compactors.

[@longfellowdeeds4726]

Too bad other humans literally ruin everything, dumpster diving would probably be encouraged if not for asshats who spread it out everywhere and refuse to clean the area back up

[@PedroPetracco]

For each one of Rob's beautiful videos, HowToBasic makes a video wasting a month's worth of food :(

[@carmenmariacortesmarin2664]

It's ludicrous! They could give it away to soup chains that feed the hungry and homeless people; just do it 2 days prior to disposing day. I'm sure they can get a tax credit for doing so. Win win situation. No waste.

[@helenbailey8419]

Great idea.👍🏼

[@jeanneamato8278]

Don’t forget that we as consumers buy the food, take it home, don’t consume a lot of it and then throw it away. We are part of the problem. I was part of the problem too until I became vegan. Now I never throw fruits and veg away. If any thing is looking tired it goes into a smoothie, soup, or with peelings, I freeze then make soup. The way you eat has a lot to do with it.

[@matthomewood5485]

Definitely, too many people are throwing their own money out the window, that craziness has to cease asap. This is a separate issue, these powerful businesses are profiting from these absurd business models that factor in waste across all stores. But, yes, more consumers - vegan or not - must start boycotting these supermarkets, and start purchasing their foods from local farmers and cook from scratch. For many folks though, this isn't an option!

[@grannyprepper1181]

That is awful all that food being tossed out.

[@jamesabby1339]

Big thumbs up.😊

[@billiamc1969]

We canned 5 gallons of organic cucumbers several months ago from Trader Joes dumpster...YUMMY!!!!

[@TrashyCookie]

You make it look alot easier to find stuff than it actually is in Copenhagen. There is alot of divers and as soon as the supermarkets have put a lock on their dumpsters, it's illegal to go near it. There are also alot of great initiatives in Copenhagen where food is being distributed instead of thrown out. Like WeFood supermarkets or free food distribution twice a week.

[@matthomewood5485]

If you look hard enough, there are loads and loads of places where you can find food! Of course, the supermarkets are embarrassed and so are locking dumpsters very quickly indeed. The initiatives sound great, but once you start looking at the data, one realises that they're essentially a huge waste of time and money (it pains my heart to write those words!). WeFood saved 358,000 kg of food last year, whilst food banks save 1.3 million kg. Total supermarket food waste? 163 million kg per year. So, WeFood and Food Banks saved 1% total. This is why we need legislation, food waste tax and economics to solve food waste, not volunteer schemes. The media are very reluctant to cover this side of the story unfortunately. If you're interested in more: wickedleeks.riverford.co.uk/opinion/food-waste-environment-ethics-ethical-business/diary-bin-diver

[@HelenRullesteg]

As you live in Denmark I'm sure you've heard of Selina Juul, who has been campaigning against food waste for several years now in Denmark, has won prizes, been on TV etc., doesn't seem that it has had any influence whatsoever. On top of that in Switzerland, probably not so different from other industrialized countries, 28% of all food waste is by private households.

[@matthomewood5485]

Hi Helle, yes, I've been in touch with Selina. She has done important work for the food waste cause. Supermarkets are supremely powerful entities though, so despite her best efforts, they appear to be continuing with business as usual. You're right consumer food waste is a massive issue, people are throwing their own money out the window, it is completely insane tbh. In Denmark, 2,700 stores throw out 163 million kg of food every year (23% of Denmark's total food waste). 5.8 million people throw out 260 million kg of food waste (37% of total). Stores profit from these business models though, that is where the big difference lies! Also, supermarkets cause tremendous waste upstream at manufacturers and farmers (especially) depending on their orders and cosmetic standards, etc.

[@heatherjolly8389]

I joined a "gleaning" group that the stores had dedicated days that we could come and do a pick up of the things they couldn't sell and we'd be able to pass it off to our free members in a centralized location.

[@snehapatel9656]

Hi I just came across your KZbin channel I was very fascinated with the work u are doing...You just inspired me to learn more about how the vegetables are grown over here in my area..I don’t know where to start thought..but I definitely want to figure it out..

[@renatehaeckler9843]

Where I live (Kentucky) poverty is so widespread that 17% of people are food insecure, and stores rarely throw away food that can be used, they've got different charities lined up for every day of the week to pick it up and take it to those who can't afford to buy it. Even bagel places and some other restaurants have charities and individuals lined up to pick up and salvage what they'd throw away.

[@matthomewood5485]

Do we really want to live in a society where 17% of people are food insecure?

[@renatehaeckler9843]

@@matthomewood5485 No, it's just a sad commentary on our times. I do think, tho, that where people are thriving, they get more selective about the freshness of what they want to eat and feel less sad about wasting food - it's a smaller proportion of their income. Easy to throw out a penny's worth of something, hard to toss $100's worth, but as your income goes up what feels like a penny also goes up.

[@matthomewood5485]

@@renatehaeckler9843 Absolutely agree. Our times are hideously unequal, that gap has to be tightened at least a little to cover the very basic material needs.

[@laurasstudio]

Looking through the comments but can't find this. What does Matt do with all the food he has found?

[@cleangreenearthforall9405]

Wow that is amazing and sad.

[@DumpsterDivingMoe]

New to your channel! Nice to find other divers! ❤😆👍

[@Outlaw-Creative-Junior1]

I admire your tenacity and ambition! There is times when I go dumpster diving I HOPE to find loads of food in the dumpsters. I live in the U.S.A and get $726 per month in social security every month, that's ALL and maybe only $68 in food stamps, if it stays to that level, they have cut my food stamps before without NO reason and NO increase in money like the food stamp office told me would happen, if you got extra money, which I NEVER did, I may only get $33 and with bills that are higher and going higher cause of the virus and I am in the negative at the bank by $200 currently and when other bills come in, it will be more, I try to dumpster dive whenever I can. I believe in GOD and HE has Helped me lots of times when I had NO or LOW food amounts. Some things I worry about is those stores locking their dumpsters or destroying the items they have thrown away, dumpster diving is NOT illegal around many parts of the U.S.A, it's the stores managers or the corporations don't want people diving in their dumpsters, so they will either lock their dumpsters or destroy the merchandise and think you won't take it, YET when you are desperate and do not have food an open box or bag doesn't seem that bad. I have been low before sometimes to the point of worrying where I will get food when my food stamps or money runs out and sure there are food pantries, yet they may only give 2 Walmart sized bags of food and some of the food may require baking and you may NOT have gas or anything to bake it in or even other ingredients people don't have and they WILL ONLY give that to you ONCE a month, NO MORE than that and NO dog food either, so you are really NOT getting too much at ALL, dumpster diving really helps people out and some businesses act like, I don't care and some of the people that works for those businesses says my hands are tied by corporate they stop us from giving that food away cause they may think even if they are doing a good deed they will be sued by a person that gets sick if they gave the food away and it past it's best by date. I trust in GOD when I dumpster dive. You can always smell and taste the food, if it has a bad smell or taste, don't eat it. Checking recall lists to can also HELP if someone has internet access. I have taken hamburger before that actually I shouldn't of taken and it did have a sour or rot smell to it and I took it anyway in desperation and thoroughly cooked it before my dogs or me ate it. GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

[@nicolakestel-lifestyleceo4040]

So much for a so called ‘advanced society’. This is truly shocking and something needs to be done. I’ve been searching for something meaningful to do, that will make a positive impact in the world and I think I just found it. People going hungry and homeless in this day and age are 2 issues that enrage me. Instead of just giving causes lip service, the more people who get actively involved in making a change, the better our world will be.

[@TheRodNemisis]

The problem about raising awareness is that sometimes the supermarkets reactions is to just make the dumpsters not accessible anymore. Out of sight out of mind..... Happens more and more in my country and so food is truly wasted :/

[@dustman96]

At the very least, all the appropriate food waste should be composted.

[@helenbailey8419]

Yes.They are doing it in New York now.I grew up with this ethos.I only buy what I will use,so never waste food.

[@marcioaurelis]

Here in Portugal, at my specific region, I can't dumpster dive because supermarkets close their bins or you don't have access at all. :/

[@christianavance9124]

I work for a non profit that feeds homeless and other vulnerable adult woman in my city. We get regular donations of food from local grocers and businesses that can no longer sell the food by health code. Because of the pandemic we are struggling to serve or store all of the perishable food we receive before it really is too far gone to be edible. Thankfully, we have very creative volunteers in our kitchen. And still my personal freezer is full of meat from weeks ago that we didnt have space for at work. Im glad more people are learning about these issues and what is really not ok to throw away.

[@matthomewood5485]

Which city is that? Thank you for your work.

[@christianavance9124]

@@matthomewood5485 Tucson, AZ. Local stores, food banks and other non profits all work together to ensure as little food as possible is wasted in our city.

[@matthomewood5485]

@@christianavance9124 that's great to hear!

We have to remember that this is what happens also when it is so easy to sue someone like a supermarket....

[@matthomewood5485]

This isn't true at all and it is scary just how many people think this. "Grocery stores are protected from liability by The Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. This act was passed in 1996, and effectively waives stores of any liability should someone get sick from the food they donate. A University of Arkansas School of Law study shows that not a single lawsuit has ever been made against a grocery store, restaurant, or caterer that has donated food to a nonprofit. A large percentage of stores cite fear of liability as their reason for not donating food, but they truly are protected and history shows that the fear is unnecessary. Thousands of food rescue programs exist across the United States and many of them will actually pick up excess food." For more: www.robgreenfield.org/foodwastesolutions/

[@SILVERF0X13]

@@matthomewood5485 The tricky thing is that you can still sue anyone for anything in the US. Even if this is in place, it doesn't protect gross negligence, and stuff like donating food that is past it's expiration date might legally be considered gross negligence. It also only allows food to be donated to a non-profit, not direct distribution of the food. This means there has to be another organization that is capable of and willing to take the food and distribute it which I imagine in a lot of places simply would not exist. I'm not saying we shouldn't try harder, just that this act doesn't give complete blanket protection to all supermarkets trying to do the right thing. It's a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to make businesses less afraid of legal consequences. Even a losing case can eat a lot of money in legal fees if you can't get it thrown out before going to court.

[@matthomewood5485]

@@SILVERF0X13 Great point. To be honest with you, I'm fighting for market-based solution, namely price fluctuations on products that are about to be dumped out. This is more systemic!

[@dustinabc]

You have found an important problem, but you finished the video in the EXACT WRONG WAY. Because gov't regulations, often pushed by well-meaning people, place strict "best if used by" expiration dates on the products, and then it is **illegal** for the stores to sell or even GIVE the items to consumers. It was using the gov't to solve other problems that created the problem you have become passionate about. Using government to "solve" a problem usually creates more problems than it fixes or prevents. I think it's awesome that you're bringing a real problem, food waste, to the eye of the public. All the other solutions you mentioned at the end are GREAT! But using force (laws and regulations) turns good ideas into bad ones. Check out the book (or videos on) Economics In One Lesson

[@matthomewood5485]

Dustin, thanks for your comment! I can see where you're coming from with your logic. I too believe that government regulations in some areas is ill advised and ends up being counter productive. Having said that, when it comes to retailers' food waste, the only two countries in the West that have made any progress at all in recent years have been France and Italy, where dumping food out is now illegal and incurs heavy fines (which are to be increased imminently). The consequence? Food donations (via tax breaks) have skyrocketed. It's a big and complex topic but letting the market decide is definitely not the way to go for this particular issue. All the best, Matt

[@dustinabc]

Why don't activists start organizations that make it easy and even profitable for supermarkets and food growers and producers to reduce food waste, instead of running to politicians and demanding they act like tyrants? Or start their own stores if they have the solutions to the problems? Getting the gov't to threaten the stores if they don't behave the way activists want them to is essentially barbaric. It might be working in certain good ways in France, but there are unseen secondary problems that result from such behavior, and too many activists ignore the unintended consequences. This food waste issue would especially be a problem if increasing numbers of people were going hungry, but we can clearly see that extreme poverty and starvation has been dropping around the entire world as people working together cooperatively (the free market) have made growing, processing, and distributing food better for everyone. And that as governments increasingly restrict people's freedom (as they have in that last year) that it makes it harder for people to solve their own problems, and once again the rates of poverty and starvation have increased. Big gov't = big problems. And you can't have a civilized society if uncivilized behavior (including from the gov't) is permitted.

[@ashlynwanderer]

in america, the good samaritan food act was passed which protects grocery stores donating food to people. not once, since it was passed in the seventies, has a supermarket been sued for someone getting sick or anything on the food the donated.

[@thewiseturtle]

As long as we promote the meme of life as a competition, and charge money for our work, cheating, waste, and deficiencies will be the norm. Only when we start to live freely, doing what we love, collaborating with anyone and everyone who wants to, will we start doing the work that serves life, unconditionally.

[@dustinabc]

Money is a tool, and it can make everyone's time far more valuable. The problem with any tool is when it gets in the wrong hands, it can do more harm than good. A hammer can help build a house, or it can destroy something wonderful. That doesn't make the tool bad. When gov't controls money (see: fiat currency) it becomes a real problem.

[@thewiseturtle]

@@dustinabc Money is a tool to con you into repressing your ideals and natural inclination to serve life. It is absolutely harmful. Numbers, on the other hand, are useful tools. Watch my video on the evolution of money to see how money will go extinct and allow something new, to be born that allows our resource tracking system to become free, decentralized, collaborative, and qualitative, so that it can serve the world, instead of harming it the way competitive games like money, competitive politics, grades, etc. do.

[@TenerifeHorseRescue]

trying to avoid consumerism as much as possible, we also go dumpster diving almost every day to feed our family of 20 volunteers and over 300 animals.

[@matthomewood5485]

Is that in Tenerife? Is it good dumpster diving there?

[@TenerifeHorseRescue]

@@matthomewood5485 yes, we are in South Tenerife. Considering the island is pretty small (only about 1 million inhabitants) we do about 50/50 of dumpster diving and then requesting fincas to donate fruit and vegetables they`d otherwise dispose of. Best dumpster dives are always behind supermarkets - the bigger the better :)

[@matthomewood5485]

@@TenerifeHorseRescue Wow that is wild to hear! Great that you have got those waste streams in order and making good use of it all. Kudos to you! Always that right? The bigger, the more waste, the better harvesting potential.

[@KleineJoop]

We're basically living in dystopia, i'm sure the ancient Greeks would agree with me if they could see it.

[@VenusVoice]

There's so much ancient greek, ancient egypt happening today. So crazy.

[@DumpsterDivingMoe]

It's crazy

[@YalisCommunity]

Exactly

[@HAIRHOLIC_1]

This is so sad for real, we are lucky people like yourself are making a good use out of these products that are discarded, I wish I could do it too, unfortunately I live in Switzerland and all of the shops dumpsters are gated and locked inside the back of the shops. I have always loved the idea of dumpster diving I wish more people would be able to do it.

[@miracleshappen4483]

ROB, this is unrelated but I thought about you instantly. I replaced detergents and other products to clean the house and do the laundry with vinegar, lime or lemon juice and baking soda. To wash myself, I use a tiny amount of soap and not every day, however as I live in Cambodia, you once showed some soap nuts which I believe to be native in this country. I am really interested in alternatives to soap, perhaps something we can use for both our bodies and our clothes. The soaps sold as natural still contain some chemicals, do you know of any cheap largely available organic materials we can use as soap (like a tree bark, berries, etc.)? Thank you. I love you, you are a great inspiration! 💖🤗🌞😁😊🥰😋

[@HaddockHazard]

In my area in the US all the stores lock up their dumpsters.

[@thechecchihomestead6136]

This is just crazy ! Where I live in Hungary , they even try to sell you the rotten food in the supermarket many times . 😅🙈 I’m really not sure what or how things are here in this regard , but I would be really interested to find it out .

[@yoshinagato]

In austria after the whole dumpster diving got big the supermarkets caged the dumpsters so you couldn't enter. So sad because that doesn't solve anything.

[@matthomewood5485]

God that's terrible to hear. This is what's happening increasingly rapidly all across Western countries. It's terrible.

[@isabellezablocki7447]

Yes so you need to go at night and arm yourself with a bolt cult to do the job. Sometimes a ladder can help you go over if it is all fenced in.

[@matthomewood5485]

@@isabellezablocki7447 so bad! Mad how far they go to protecting their trash...

[@luckywater3764]

If we dumpster dive and secure a week worth of foods, we won’t go to a grocery store that week, then will the store have more unsold foods to throw away in their dumpster? I asked a question same in concept to a business who sells subscriptions of ugly vegetable delivery but they haven’t responded as of yet. They said their business model would reduce the perfectly edible foods going to landfill, but would it? If I buy from them, then the other stores will lose business from me, and their unsold produce will go to the landfill instead. Am I only looking on the surface? I really don’t know how to reduce global food waste other than we stop producing so much foods. Unless, more of us dumpster dive consistently so that the stores will lose business and start ordering less foods to stock their shelves, and that’ll lead to less manufacturing of foods. Are you guys talking about a movement like that? Whatever the solution is, this is a great eye opening informative video. We all need to be aware of our problems. Thank you.

[@yoshinagato]

@@luckywater3764 ultimately dumpster diving is not the solution. As you said if less people would buy the food they would offer less but it doesn't solve the issue that the stores will offer more than it has to. Its like picking up trash. Yeah its good for the local environment but it is not the solution to the problem. But that doesn't mean dumpster diving or trash picking is useless. Its something but its not going to change the problem.

[@dazmaster22]

Heres a tip, amazon Fresh locations throw out ungodly amounts of food that's still perfectly good. There's a location near me and sweet jesus its ridiculous how much goes to waste, like, forget a dumpster full, they have a full trailer sized dumpster full of stuff, most of it still perfectly edible

[@caroldotson7284]

I never heard of Amazon Fresh. Thanks, gonna check it out for here in Florida.

[@dazmaster22]

@@caroldotson7284 its Amazon's grocery delivery service, the warehouses they have, as I stated, throw out a ton of food, most of it because someone stored it wrong in the system, instead of fixing the errors, they just throw it all away if improperly stored. Same if something falls from a shelf into the floor, instead of putting it on a shelf and fixing it, its thrown away

[@matthomewood5485]

@@dazmaster22 wow that is incredible to hear... What crazy systems we have in place!

[@allaboutmytragedies]

But why do the dump it? 😿 is it bcs the day ended and it didn’t got sold?

[@dustinabc]

Because gov't regulations, often pushed by well-meaning people, place strict "best if used by" expiration dates on the products, and then it is *illegal* for the stores to sell or even GIVE the items to consumers. Using government to "solve" a problem usually creates more problems than it fixes or prevents. I LOVE that you're bringing a real problem, food waste, to the eye of the public. But using force (laws and regulations) turns good ideas into bad ones. Check out the book (or videos on) Economics In One Lesson

[@matthomewood5485]

Stores are keeping the prices on soon-to-be-trash foods too high, for too long in relation to that best before date. It's all about supply and demand, really, and that price needs to fluctuate in relation that supply & demand.

[@unaminhkavanagh]

I’m not sure if dumpster diving is a thing in Ireland but if it is, I must try and scout it out. So much food waste :(

[@matthomewood5485]

It is! Find me on IG and I'll hook you up. An Urban Harvester

[@CathyGoes]

I got news for this guy. Notice how all the produce at the farmer's market is picture perfect? That's because all the misshapen or odd sized stuff was discarded. If you're lucky it made its way into a compost pile or was tossed to livestock. Otherwise it went straight to the landfill since those growers don't produce enough to market their wastes separately. As far as dumpster diving goes, many people are extremely ignorant of basic food safety guidelines. They think stuff like yogurt never goes bad(it does). They think anything that smells fine is okay. Except botulism doesn't always make the food smell off and it's a pretty nasty way to die. This can come from low acid foods sitting at room temp that are packaged in a way meant for the fridge. Especially if the seal is broke from getting tossed in a dumpster. For example, those orange juices those folks are chugging. It used to be that things like tomato and orange products had enough acid to produce a low enough ph to deter bacteria. But modern agriculture has made them sweeter and lower acid. They now need to be handled as a perishable product unless they are canned or sealed in airless packaging. They are playing russian roulette with their lives and the lives of others they give the food to if they don't know what they're doing.

[@frentbow]

As uk gov guidelines have a weight of food item per child it was a daily waste of 2 full garbage bins worth of food at just one school and you are not allowed to take any or give to anyone.

[@Leitz_kraft]

You'd need a warehouse to store all of this bulk food!

[@jonnaborosky8836]

Absolutely amazing! What are you doing with the food you "rescue?"

[@matthomewood5485]

All sorts really! It completely depends on the harvest in question.

[@janetbecker4282]

It makes me sad that we haven't changed what we do. I have a double lot I purchased and want to turn 1 lot into a food forest for my community.

[@wildlifegardenssydney7492]

Here in Sydney, Second Bite does a great job of collecting so much waste food” and takes it to community groups making food for the poor, homeless, lonely to enjoy and sustain them. I have seen the food waste bins locked with chains outside supermarkets. Horrendous to think sentient living creatures factory farmed, live terrible lives, are killed and then dumped as per the bacon from 5 pigs in your living room. btw pigs are as intelligent as dogs. Thank you for your video

[@matthomewood5485]

Tbh, farm animal food waste is what breaks my heart the most and is what keeps me going. If you're interested in learning more about the animal food waste, I cover this a little bit here: www.matthomewood.com/ Rob has fantastic posts and pages dedicated to food waste on his website, my favourite: www.robgreenfield.org/foodwastesolutions/ Wishing you a good day. Matt

[@michaeldeng1981]

Mange Tak! Matt.

[@matthomewood5485]

Det var så lidt :)

[@LiLBitsDK]

usually when a supermarket throws out a LOT in one go it is because it has been recalled, can be because of bacterias in the product, but also metal/glas and other stuff, so eating it is at your own risk.

[@atlasdm]

I used to work in law enforcement, and after reading some of the comments I want to chime in. A big part of why it's illegal to dumpster dive and why many big grocery stores lock their dumpsters (crazy right?) is because of how people (divers) act. Groups of people will literally loiter around grocery store dumpsters and wait for the employees to throw out the trash so they can be the first to dig through it. This leads to fights that often result in injuries, and sometimes employees get hurt as well. Many of these people would have no problem paying for groceries, but they're just trying to save a few bucks or even worse, loot the dumpsters and resell what they find at local markets, online marketplaces, or even restaurants that source locally. Unfortunately, it's not as cut and dry as many of the commenters here would have you believe. Greed leads humans of all kinds to do bad things, it's not just corporations and governments.

[@shanemillard608]

Thanks for the bringing awareness to such an important topic. I wonder if the pressure needs to be put on government, or if it might be better served to come up with creative solutions that make it financially and socially incentivized to not waste these levels of produce. At the root of it, I don't believe the super markets are trying to hurt or harm someone in some way. But it seems they are doing this largely because of the financial bottom lines they have to keep up with, and the demand of consumers. But, I do believe government does have a role to play in this. There may be something they can do to ease restrictions on markets sharing these waste products with local groups that could compost them and turn them around as part of a business. Thanks again!

[@yasmindawoojee6831]

Awesome

[@bdhanes]

Hey Dumpster Divers! Consider wearing a yellow reflective vest, even a helmet, when on the hunt. People don't question a yellow vest. Happy hunting!

[@aundybkoo]

People would have to sign a liability release saying that they won't sue if they get sick eating out of a dumpster. Sad but true! Some of these milks could be sent to a scratch n dent store where a lot of stuff is expired but edible.

[@odettestroebel3135]

In South Africa these foods get bought by salvage stores and sold for much less than normal. The supermarket sells it to them so they don't get thrown out

[@matthomewood5485]

Interesting! What is the price in the discount store compared to the full price in the supermarket? Are we talking 30% discount or more like 80% discount?

[@odettestroebel3135]

@@matthomewood5485 it's anything from 50 percent less to 80 percent less depending on best before date. Sometimes the packaging is slightly damaged and everything is still within Best before date and still at least half price. I think the problem is with the system. Most people don't realise that manufacturers are required to add a best before and expiry date. Best before is not the same as expiry either. The products will be safe to use after best before but maybe not at their best. Most dry and canned goods last well beyond that.

[@odettestroebel3135]

@@matthomewood5485 I often try and even exclude the middle man. I go to my supermarket and ask the manager what's close to being thrown out and get it straight from the source. Sometimes free .

[@matthomewood5485]

@@odettestroebel3135 Wow thanks for that. 50-80% off - now we're talking! That will make these products sell, not the miserly 25% on the day of... Absolutely with you on that, folks need to understand the intergalactic differences that exist between best before and expires by!

[@matthomewood5485]

@@odettestroebel3135 As in you get for free from the supermarket manager?

[@dodicimucche187]

Take a look to Last Minute Market project in Italy :) it's a particular case, but... It's a case!

[@matthomewood5485]

What is this project @Dodici Mucche?

[@dodicimucche187]

@@matthomewood5485 they try to reduce waste in GDO and improve virtuous circular economy. They're born as university study group under prof. Segrè supervision (Not only food waste during last years), they create links and developing local projects aimed at the recovery of unsold goods in favor of non-profit organizations. They also compile annual reports on waste for the community, try to improve awareness. Maybe better explained whit their words, from the English page of www.lastminutemarket.it/english

[@matthomewood5485]

@@dodicimucche187 That's awesome to hear. Thanks for sharing this story with me. Appreciate it!

[@roghibfakhri]

That's wonderful food, so fortunately you can diving that wondeful food dumpster haha here in Indonesia, it is so difficult to save those food that supermarket throw into bin because regulation meanwhile there a lot people starving.

[@johnbarham9991]

A lot of grocery stores are starting to move away from food waste by contributing food to banks and pantries. But it still leaves behind a ton of waste in dumpsters that are locked at night. It's shameful.

[@matthomewood5485]

Only about 20% in the USA...

[@RuralGrove]

Here is my dilemma. Of course, we shouldn't throw away any fruit or vegetables. We should also respect the animals and meat they give us. However, many products are harmful to health. They have a lot of pesticides and hemicals in them. Better to throw it away than eat it. It's just junk food.. Anyway, I understand your point of view. Thank you for what you are doing to this planet.

[@zackied596]

Watch this video at 1.5x speed. It makes for a better viewing experience.

[@kwdoug]

Gen z and Millennials must be reincarnation from the 30s and 40s based on the music they love on KZbin

[@heatherherbst8385]

Stores hide their waste and prevent dumpster diving by using COMPACTORS! 😑

[@miltonwelch8619]

Ultimately, what are you doing with all the stuff?

[@iainwaugh9777]

Eat it, freeze it, or share it probably. We plenty of apps now that can help get this food out to people who will use it. In the UK ‘Olio’ is good

[@matthomewood5485]

@@iainwaugh9777 Exactly right. The options are limitless!

[@kiaanee]

@@matthomewood5485 awesome ♡

[@raggedy_esh]

This hurts to watch. Keep up the good work 👍🏽

[@Dubsy]

I wanted to go dumpster diving in northern germany, but they lock their bins for '' safety reasons''. So much food is just thrown away it is disgusting.. At my job had to dump the recycling bin and normal trash as well as paper together, because the supermarked mandated it. It was disgusting...

[@matthomewood5485]

I see terrible things from Germany when it comes to supermarket waste and food waste, it is so backward with its policies, it's scary to be honest. Europe is such a mess!

[@katherinefarr7473]

How do you know if the food's edible when you go dumpster diving? I'm sure some amount of it was thrown out for safety reasons like a recall or being past it's expiration.

[@miracleshappen4483]

As long as we keep having a monetary system, an economy, the problem will not be resolved. We are trained to think in terms of money, capital, yield, shares and profits: this is completely insane! There is enough for all species to have a good life while COLLABORATING with one another rather than competing. All differences are in our mind, there is no duality in the real world, we are mere cells of a much bigger organism who somewhere during the process of evolution decided to divorce from the rest of us. Everything is alive and everything has a purpose, this illusionary fear based human society too shall pass! Love is all there is! We are ONE even if manifested in different forms: open your heart, I love you!

[@organizedchaos4559]

Is this only in some cities? Cause I live in New York and I never see supermarkets with dumpsters or any of the food being thrown out.

[@BantiarnaMacRaghnaill]

It would be rare to find a market or business that does not discard ridiculous amounts of food. It is my guess that they keep their dumpsters somewhere unaccessible to the public.

[@organizedchaos4559]

@@BantiarnaMacRaghnaill yeah probably

[@matthomewood5485]

Find me on IG (An Urban Harvester) - so MUCH going out in Manhattan.

[@Leonard73rr4]

Ti eres mi hermano, ustedes son mis hermanos

[@mglinkowski]

wait why was the tomato paste thrown out? it should be shelf stable for at least a year, no?

[@matthomewood5485]

It had past its best before, so the store had to by law. No discount at all though. No desire to sell things too cheap.

[@missjones8123]

Why dont we see Rob anymore?

[@cynthiahofer2903]

Safeway stores are the worst. They'd rather throw away produce than let you have it at a marked down price. All their deli stuff goes straight in the garbage at the end of the day. They do donate bread to food banks, cookies and horrible cakes left over. Sad. There has to be a better way.

[@matthomewood5485]

Hi Cindy, that's so sad to hear. Yes, there must be a better way! Is this Safeway in Australia? Matt

[@ashoksundar99]

Food wastage while people are starving elsewhere. Someone should figure out the transportation rather than creating a disposal strategy. Thanks for the video.

[@AndreaAvila78]

This is truly shocking from me, living in a third world country. It makes me want to cry. In Argentina soy milk for instance is so expensive! And there you rescued more than 60 litres of plant based milks! Unbelievable!

[@matthomewood5485]

Andrea! I'm so sorry to hear that. You're so right, the world is terribly unjust and hopefully we can change our ways. So ironic that Argentina is one of the world's largest soy producers and yet it is largely unaffordable for people. So sad!

[@AndreaAvila78]

@@matthomewood5485 The problem is corruption in this country. In Argentina politicians have always stolen the resources of the people. For instance: the government made a treaty with the Chinese government to raise pigs in Patagonia. They are going to destroy the best area that Argentina has. This country is hopeless. It makes me so depressed. Why can't the Chinese eat rice instead? Way healthier! I eat rice every day. I abstain from animal products and my health is fantastic! If people want to save the planet they must go vegan.

[@matthomewood5485]

@@AndreaAvila78 1888, 19th President of the USA, Rutherford B. Hayes: "“The real difficulty is with the vast wealth and power in the hands of the few and the unscrupulous who represent or control capital. Hundreds of laws of Congress and the state legislatures are in the interest of these men and against the interests of workingmen. These need to be exposed and repealed. All laws on corporations, on taxation, on trusts, wills, descent, and the like, need examination and extensive change. This is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people no longer. It is a government of corporations, by corporations, and for corporations.” The ever-burgeoning Chinese population and the voracious demand for meat (just like the vast majority of the West) is a huge, huge problem! Same in Denmark, this country has become another country that dedicates its whole land to growing pigs (and their feed crops) for those people. It's detestable. I'm sorry to hear that Argentina is going down the wrong path and that corruption remains such a major problem. These are difficult times. No doubt about it.

[@DeafDiver]

I was told if you do that in USA, you'll go prison for that

[@edwinrodriguez534]

Yeah that tracks.... haven't been there but it wouldn't surprise me from the land of the free

[@SILVERF0X13]

I mean that's a bit extreme, but getting a ticket is definitely a possibility. A lot of states have it as an illegal act to dumpster dive, and store aren't allowed to promote it in any state due to the fact that they are liable for anyone who goes diving and gets hurt, regardless of if they were given permission to go diving.

[@sublime90]

they would rather throw it away if they cant sell it. crazy. there shouldnt be anyone who goes hungry on earth, theres more than enough food clearly and the price of groceries doesnt need to be that high either.

[@matthomewood5485]

Preach! You're so right on both points. I'm so glad so many folks are realising that this is a question of economics. Prices are too high!!!

[@camnnnr]

Why dont they let Foodbanks pick up the food?

[@matthomewood5485]

Time, money, effort...

[@khgn1234]

Why are Supermarkets throwing so much food??