With the price of groceries and fresh produce continuously on the rise, we're all looking for ways to save money and resources – and this involves minimising or eliminating food waste as much as possible.

Food waste is expensive, and not just in terms of money. It also has huge effects on the environment and on people's health.

That is why it can also be pretty frustrating to see that generally, it is not the wider public but rather the giant corporations that are contributing to the massive waste of food and fresh produce.

Just take a look at this one TikTok video showing the unbelievable amount of fruit and vegetables that were thrown out behind a supermarket.

All of this is happening at a time when more and more Aussies are having trouble paying for their groceries and not being able to afford healthy food options. How wasteful!

A budget-savvy Aussie showed off the fresh produce he rescued from the rubbish. Credit: TikTok.​

To show everyone just how much fresh produce is thrown out every single day, Luca Corby filmed himself 'dumpster diving' in Canberra and uploaded the footage on TikTok. Together with two of his mates, the three of them put on headlamps and looked through the rubbish bins near their local supermarkets.

'Food is expensive at the moment, so let's go dumpster diving,' he said in the video.

At the first location, the group was able to find and salvage some spuds, carrots, leeks, and loose ginger, which Mr Corby believed to be worth about $20. They also found some leafy greens, such as a head of lettuce.

'Look at this lettuce, it is literally fresh. There are a couple of dead leaves on the outside, but the inside is all fresh,' he said. The group also found rhubarb, mandarins, capsicums, oranges, grapes and asparagus.

Mr Corby said that as soon as they got back to their house, the three of them washed every piece of fruit and vegetable that they recovered in the bins. After being cleaned, they were put in the fridge.

'Our fridge is stocked for the next week. Our groceries for this week were essentially free,' he said.

'It's crazy because we just went to a small supermarket, but you can imagine Coles and Woolworths would be throwing out so much stuff while families are struggling to buy fresh vegetables.'

​

A few weeks ago, Mr Corby posted a picture of a similar situation – a huge amount of fresh and completely edible food items thrown away by a local IGA store. Luckily, his friend was nearby and able to recover them.

'Literally so many people are struggling to buy fresh produce at the moment, and this is how much food my friend got dumpster diving yesterday,' he said. 'That was all going to go in the bin. That's f**ked.'

The video has been viewed by thousands of people, and many of them have expressed their disbelief at the amount of fresh produce that is discarded each day.

'This is so heartbreaking to see. The food looks so fresh. People are struggling right now,' one person wrote in the comments. 'So much wastage!' added another.

A third commended their food-saving efforts, saying: 'Well done! It's an absolute crime that those perfectly good foods can be thrown in the trash.'

Food waste has long been a problem for both supermarkets and retailers. Credit: Better Homes and Gardens.​

When it comes to food waste, which has been a long-time problem for supermarkets and retailers alike, Coles and Woolworths already have programs in place to minimise food waste in their stores.

Woolies has set up a Food Rescue and Recycling Program to help stores find and save fresh food that would otherwise go to waste. These food items are then used for things like feeding animals at local farms and zoos or for commercial composting.

They also work with charity groups such as OzHarvest, Foodbank, and FareShare to source and give food that can still be eaten to local organisations that help people who are hungry.

Coles, on the other hand, has started the Together to Zero Waste program to help reduce food waste in all of its stores.

Any food that doesn't sell but is still good to eat is given to food rescue groups like SecondBite and Foodbank, or it's given to local farmers and animal or wildlife services.

What are your thoughts, folks? Do you think these initiatives by supermarkets are enough to curb food waste? What about the smaller independent grocers?

Let us know in the comments! We’re particularly interested in whether you’ve seen food thrown out or had to throw it out yourself at work.

 

[Suzanne rose]

I have a friend who owns five McDonald's and the waste there is incredible, after only short times so much is thrown out. Eg apple pies I think can only sit for 25 minutes in the warmers they are then thrown out.
I offered along with my family to collect the food and go feed the homeless in the city but she said she wasn't aloud to do that due to the chance of food poisoning because of time expiry note not food expiry but time. This is a rule set out by McDonald's. They have so much food waste

 

[Pat T]

With the price of groceries and fresh produce continuously on the rise, we're all looking for ways to save money and resources – and this involves minimising or eliminating food waste as much as possible.

Food waste is expensive, and not just in terms of money. It also has huge effects on the environment and on people's health.

That is why it can also be pretty frustrating to see that generally, it is not the wider public but rather the giant corporations that are contributing to the massive waste of food and fresh produce.

Just take a look at this one TikTok video showing the unbelievable amount of fruit and vegetables that were thrown out behind a supermarket.

All of this is happening at a time when more and more Aussies are having trouble paying for their groceries and not being able to afford healthy food options. How wasteful!

A budget-savvy Aussie showed off the fresh produce he rescued from the rubbish. Credit: TikTok.​

To show everyone just how much fresh produce is thrown out every single day, Luca Corby filmed himself 'dumpster diving' in Canberra and uploaded the footage on TikTok. Together with two of his mates, the three of them put on headlamps and looked through the rubbish bins near their local supermarkets.

'Food is expensive at the moment, so let's go dumpster diving,' he said in the video.

At the first location, the group was able to find and salvage some spuds, carrots, leeks, and loose ginger, which Mr Corby believed to be worth about $20. They also found some leafy greens, such as a head of lettuce.

'Look at this lettuce, it is literally fresh. There are a couple of dead leaves on the outside, but the inside is all fresh,' he said. The group also found rhubarb, mandarins, capsicums, oranges, grapes and asparagus.

Mr Corby said that as soon as they got back to their house, the three of them washed every piece of fruit and vegetable that they recovered in the bins. After being cleaned, they were put in the fridge.

'Our fridge is stocked for the next week. Our groceries for this week were essentially free,' he said.

'It's crazy because we just went to a small supermarket, but you can imagine Coles and Woolworths would be throwing out so much stuff while families are struggling to buy fresh vegetables.'

​

A few weeks ago, Mr Corby posted a picture of a similar situation – a huge amount of fresh and completely edible food items thrown away by a local IGA store. Luckily, his friend was nearby and able to recover them.

'Literally so many people are struggling to buy fresh produce at the moment, and this is how much food my friend got dumpster diving yesterday,' he said. 'That was all going to go in the bin. That's f**ked.'

The video has been viewed by thousands of people, and many of them have expressed their disbelief at the amount of fresh produce that is discarded each day.

'This is so heartbreaking to see. The food looks so fresh. People are struggling right now,' one person wrote in the comments. 'So much wastage!' added another.

A third commended their food-saving efforts, saying: 'Well done! It's an absolute crime that those perfectly good foods can be thrown in the trash.'

Food waste has long been a problem for both supermarkets and retailers. Credit: Better Homes and Gardens.​

When it comes to food waste, which has been a long-time problem for supermarkets and retailers alike, Coles and Woolworths already have programs in place to minimise food waste in their stores.

Woolies has set up a Food Rescue and Recycling Program to help stores find and save fresh food that would otherwise go to waste. These food items are then used for things like feeding animals at local farms and zoos or for commercial composting.

They also work with charity groups such as OzHarvest, Foodbank, and FareShare to source and give food that can still be eaten to local organisations that help people who are hungry.

Coles, on the other hand, has started the Together to Zero Waste program to help reduce food waste in all of its stores.

Any food that doesn't sell but is still good to eat is given to food rescue groups like SecondBite and Foodbank, or it's given to local farmers and animal or wildlife services.

What are your thoughts, folks? Do you think these initiatives by supermarkets are enough to curb food waste? What about the smaller independent grocers?

Let us know in the comments! We’re particularly interested in whether you’ve seen food thrown out or had to throw it out yourself at work.

Surely there is a food kitchen or similar for the homeless in towns close to supermarkets. All unwanted food could go into a clean bin inside and be picked up in the mornings for that nights meal.

 

[Mrs P]

Sad really, they are dammed if they do & dammed if they dont,,People want "Fresh " food on the supermarket shelves , so they are forced to toss the dated food, the dates on use by food are there for a reason, to stop food poisoning...If I got a McDonalds apple pie that had been sitting in the warmer all day & got sick ..I would not be happy...Stop complaing people...put yourselved in their shoes...Yes its wasteful, but its been brought on by complaing people who dont want or who have had food related upsets..So the powers that be have tried to lessen the chances, by setting rules for food sellers..... I am glad Im not one of them...it must be so hard to try & please everybody.... Good luck to dumpster divers.....

 

[Ricci]

If I was younger and more physically able I think I would be seriously considering dumpster diving. Needs must I'm afraid and if I still had a family to feed I would swallow my pride and make it an adventure!

 

[Sloopy]

Remember, this is on top of what is wasted WITHOUT even making it to the supermarkets. Perfectly good fruit and vegetables are rejected for sale due to not meeting strict aesthetic standards. There are some moves to reform this, and some producers are avoiding waste by value-adding, but there's a long way to go.

 

[Alexander]

With the price of groceries and fresh produce continuously on the rise, we're all looking for ways to save money and resources – and this involves minimising or eliminating food waste as much as possible.

Food waste is expensive, and not just in terms of money. It also has huge effects on the environment and on people's health.

That is why it can also be pretty frustrating to see that generally, it is not the wider public but rather the giant corporations that are contributing to the massive waste of food and fresh produce.

Just take a look at this one TikTok video showing the unbelievable amount of fruit and vegetables that were thrown out behind a supermarket.

All of this is happening at a time when more and more Aussies are having trouble paying for their groceries and not being able to afford healthy food options. How wasteful!

A budget-savvy Aussie showed off the fresh produce he rescued from the rubbish. Credit: TikTok.​

To show everyone just how much fresh produce is thrown out every single day, Luca Corby filmed himself 'dumpster diving' in Canberra and uploaded the footage on TikTok. Together with two of his mates, the three of them put on headlamps and looked through the rubbish bins near their local supermarkets.

'Food is expensive at the moment, so let's go dumpster diving,' he said in the video.

At the first location, the group was able to find and salvage some spuds, carrots, leeks, and loose ginger, which Mr Corby believed to be worth about $20. They also found some leafy greens, such as a head of lettuce.

'Look at this lettuce, it is literally fresh. There are a couple of dead leaves on the outside, but the inside is all fresh,' he said. The group also found rhubarb, mandarins, capsicums, oranges, grapes and asparagus.

Mr Corby said that as soon as they got back to their house, the three of them washed every piece of fruit and vegetable that they recovered in the bins. After being cleaned, they were put in the fridge.

'Our fridge is stocked for the next week. Our groceries for this week were essentially free,' he said.

'It's crazy because we just went to a small supermarket, but you can imagine Coles and Woolworths would be throwing out so much stuff while families are struggling to buy fresh vegetables.'

​

A few weeks ago, Mr Corby posted a picture of a similar situation – a huge amount of fresh and completely edible food items thrown away by a local IGA store. Luckily, his friend was nearby and able to recover them.

'Literally so many people are struggling to buy fresh produce at the moment, and this is how much food my friend got dumpster diving yesterday,' he said. 'That was all going to go in the bin. That's f**ked.'

The video has been viewed by thousands of people, and many of them have expressed their disbelief at the amount of fresh produce that is discarded each day.

'This is so heartbreaking to see. The food looks so fresh. People are struggling right now,' one person wrote in the comments. 'So much wastage!' added another.

A third commended their food-saving efforts, saying: 'Well done! It's an absolute crime that those perfectly good foods can be thrown in the trash.'

Food waste has long been a problem for both supermarkets and retailers. Credit: Better Homes and Gardens.​

When it comes to food waste, which has been a long-time problem for supermarkets and retailers alike, Coles and Woolworths already have programs in place to minimise food waste in their stores.

Woolies has set up a Food Rescue and Recycling Program to help stores find and save fresh food that would otherwise go to waste. These food items are then used for things like feeding animals at local farms and zoos or for commercial composting.

They also work with charity groups such as OzHarvest, Foodbank, and FareShare to source and give food that can still be eaten to local organisations that help people who are hungry.

Coles, on the other hand, has started the Together to Zero Waste program to help reduce food waste in all of its stores.

Any food that doesn't sell but is still good to eat is given to food rescue groups like SecondBite and Foodbank, or it's given to local farmers and animal or wildlife services.

What are your thoughts, folks? Do you think these initiatives by supermarkets are enough to curb food waste? What about the smaller independent grocers?

Let us know in the comments! We’re particularly interested in whether you’ve seen food thrown out or had to throw it out yourself at work.

It is in many cases our own fault!! As an example, you go to a shop to buy a banana and all the ones left have a brown patch on the skin. "That's going bad," you think and you go somewhere else. As a result the banana is probably thrown out. Next time you look for a banana I would challenge you to purchase 50 with brown patches on the skin and I would be surprised if you found two that were inedible.
As a society we have to get over the idea that everything in the grocery shop has to be perfect before we buy it. Lofe is not like that so get used to it.

 

[goodmorning]

I grow a lot of my own veg and some fruit I don't have a very big yard but still manage to grow enough veg to keep me going it isn't just the supermarkets that dump food they show farmers doing it when there is a glut and they don't get a good price they dump it. We have just grown into a society of greed and waste

 

[Janet g]

Surely this act comes under stealing ? Ok so 3 of them go dumpster diving but what if there is only 1 person those bin lids are heavy also the danger of falling in etc etc .WELL that’s my winge for the day

 

[Ricci]

Surely this act comes under stealing ? Ok so 3 of them go dumpster diving but what if there is only 1 person those bin lids are heavy also the danger of falling in etc etc .WELL that’s my winge for the day

Stealing from whom? The store doesn't want it as they threw it out.

 

[Pat T]

If I was younger and more physically able I think I would be seriously considering dumpster diving. Needs must I'm afraid and if I still had a family to feed I would swallow my pride and make it an adventure!

I just imagined me doing a header into the bin and someone closing the lid.

 

[lozat54]

With the price of groceries and fresh produce continuously on the rise, we're all looking for ways to save money and resources – and this involves minimising or eliminating food waste as much as possible.

Food waste is expensive, and not just in terms of money. It also has huge effects on the environment and on people's health.

That is why it can also be pretty frustrating to see that generally, it is not the wider public but rather the giant corporations that are contributing to the massive waste of food and fresh produce.

Just take a look at this one TikTok video showing the unbelievable amount of fruit and vegetables that were thrown out behind a supermarket.

All of this is happening at a time when more and more Aussies are having trouble paying for their groceries and not being able to afford healthy food options. How wasteful!

A budget-savvy Aussie showed off the fresh produce he rescued from the rubbish. Credit: TikTok.​

To show everyone just how much fresh produce is thrown out every single day, Luca Corby filmed himself 'dumpster diving' in Canberra and uploaded the footage on TikTok. Together with two of his mates, the three of them put on headlamps and looked through the rubbish bins near their local supermarkets.

'Food is expensive at the moment, so let's go dumpster diving,' he said in the video.

At the first location, the group was able to find and salvage some spuds, carrots, leeks, and loose ginger, which Mr Corby believed to be worth about $20. They also found some leafy greens, such as a head of lettuce.

'Look at this lettuce, it is literally fresh. There are a couple of dead leaves on the outside, but the inside is all fresh,' he said. The group also found rhubarb, mandarins, capsicums, oranges, grapes and asparagus.

Mr Corby said that as soon as they got back to their house, the three of them washed every piece of fruit and vegetable that they recovered in the bins. After being cleaned, they were put in the fridge.

'Our fridge is stocked for the next week. Our groceries for this week were essentially free,' he said.

'It's crazy because we just went to a small supermarket, but you can imagine Coles and Woolworths would be throwing out so much stuff while families are struggling to buy fresh vegetables.'

​

A few weeks ago, Mr Corby posted a picture of a similar situation – a huge amount of fresh and completely edible food items thrown away by a local IGA store. Luckily, his friend was nearby and able to recover them.

'Literally so many people are struggling to buy fresh produce at the moment, and this is how much food my friend got dumpster diving yesterday,' he said. 'That was all going to go in the bin. That's f**ked.'

The video has been viewed by thousands of people, and many of them have expressed their disbelief at the amount of fresh produce that is discarded each day.

'This is so heartbreaking to see. The food looks so fresh. People are struggling right now,' one person wrote in the comments. 'So much wastage!' added another.

A third commended their food-saving efforts, saying: 'Well done! It's an absolute crime that those perfectly good foods can be thrown in the trash.'

Food waste has long been a problem for both supermarkets and retailers. Credit: Better Homes and Gardens.​

When it comes to food waste, which has been a long-time problem for supermarkets and retailers alike, Coles and Woolworths already have programs in place to minimise food waste in their stores.

Woolies has set up a Food Rescue and Recycling Program to help stores find and save fresh food that would otherwise go to waste. These food items are then used for things like feeding animals at local farms and zoos or for commercial composting.

They also work with charity groups such as OzHarvest, Foodbank, and FareShare to source and give food that can still be eaten to local organisations that help people who are hungry.

Coles, on the other hand, has started the Together to Zero Waste program to help reduce food waste in all of its stores.

Any food that doesn't sell but is still good to eat is given to food rescue groups like SecondBite and Foodbank, or it's given to local farmers and animal or wildlife services.

What are your thoughts, folks? Do you think these initiatives by supermarkets are enough to curb food waste? What about the smaller independent grocers?

Let us know in the comments! We’re particularly interested in whether you’ve seen food thrown out or had to throw it out yourself at work.

It is a terrible sin to throw away good food that could be given to those in need…but going through a dumpster & taking out & using food from among all the other rubbish in there…no thanks, that’s feral!!

 

[BJM]

With the price of groceries and fresh produce continuously on the rise, we're all looking for ways to save money and resources – and this involves minimising or eliminating food waste as much as possible.

Food waste is expensive, and not just in terms of money. It also has huge effects on the environment and on people's health.

That is why it can also be pretty frustrating to see that generally, it is not the wider public but rather the giant corporations that are contributing to the massive waste of food and fresh produce.

Just take a look at this one TikTok video showing the unbelievable amount of fruit and vegetables that were thrown out behind a supermarket.

All of this is happening at a time when more and more Aussies are having trouble paying for their groceries and not being able to afford healthy food options. How wasteful!

A budget-savvy Aussie showed off the fresh produce he rescued from the rubbish. Credit: TikTok.​

To show everyone just how much fresh produce is thrown out every single day, Luca Corby filmed himself 'dumpster diving' in Canberra and uploaded the footage on TikTok. Together with two of his mates, the three of them put on headlamps and looked through the rubbish bins near their local supermarkets.

'Food is expensive at the moment, so let's go dumpster diving,' he said in the video.

At the first location, the group was able to find and salvage some spuds, carrots, leeks, and loose ginger, which Mr Corby believed to be worth about $20. They also found some leafy greens, such as a head of lettuce.

'Look at this lettuce, it is literally fresh. There are a couple of dead leaves on the outside, but the inside is all fresh,' he said. The group also found rhubarb, mandarins, capsicums, oranges, grapes and asparagus.

Mr Corby said that as soon as they got back to their house, the three of them washed every piece of fruit and vegetable that they recovered in the bins. After being cleaned, they were put in the fridge.

'Our fridge is stocked for the next week. Our groceries for this week were essentially free,' he said.

'It's crazy because we just went to a small supermarket, but you can imagine Coles and Woolworths would be throwing out so much stuff while families are struggling to buy fresh vegetables.'

​

A few weeks ago, Mr Corby posted a picture of a similar situation – a huge amount of fresh and completely edible food items thrown away by a local IGA store. Luckily, his friend was nearby and able to recover them.

'Literally so many people are struggling to buy fresh produce at the moment, and this is how much food my friend got dumpster diving yesterday,' he said. 'That was all going to go in the bin. That's f**ked.'

The video has been viewed by thousands of people, and many of them have expressed their disbelief at the amount of fresh produce that is discarded each day.

'This is so heartbreaking to see. The food looks so fresh. People are struggling right now,' one person wrote in the comments. 'So much wastage!' added another.

A third commended their food-saving efforts, saying: 'Well done! It's an absolute crime that those perfectly good foods can be thrown in the trash.'

Food waste has long been a problem for both supermarkets and retailers. Credit: Better Homes and Gardens.​

When it comes to food waste, which has been a long-time problem for supermarkets and retailers alike, Coles and Woolworths already have programs in place to minimise food waste in their stores.

Woolies has set up a Food Rescue and Recycling Program to help stores find and save fresh food that would otherwise go to waste. These food items are then used for things like feeding animals at local farms and zoos or for commercial composting.

They also work with charity groups such as OzHarvest, Foodbank, and FareShare to source and give food that can still be eaten to local organisations that help people who are hungry.

Coles, on the other hand, has started the Together to Zero Waste program to help reduce food waste in all of its stores.

Any food that doesn't sell but is still good to eat is given to food rescue groups like SecondBite and Foodbank, or it's given to local farmers and animal or wildlife services.

What are your thoughts, folks? Do you think these initiatives by supermarkets are enough to curb food waste? What about the smaller independent grocers?

Let us know in the comments! We’re particularly interested in whether you’ve seen food thrown out or had to throw it out yourself at work.

Looking at the included photo of lettuce being thrown in the dumpster the maybe if “big two retailers” (Woolies and Coles) didn’t dump so much then they could reduce their prices on lettuce but I guess it’s all about profit

 

[Andrew]

I have grandsons that work in a fast food outlet. They too have to discard time expired food. Also at the end of the day anything left gets thrown out. Even they are not allowed to have it. Can't see the difference between home cooked leftovers and theirs.

 

[Catherines]

I can understand food kept too long in warmers being thrown out. But why are the supermarkets throwing out food that still has some days (sometimes even a week or more) to go before expiry. A similar article was on this site a few weeks ago which said some dumped food had a couple of weeks left to the expiry date.

Mark it down, keep it in a special bin saying something like “this fruit is OK to eat, nearing expiry, or slightly damaged” or something on those lines and there will definitely be struggling families or pensioners who would buy them. They could throw out the odd piece in a multi buy that might be damaged or close to, and remove the outer leaves from lettuces etc. which will still give them some food.

I, personally, wouldn’t take any food that has been in a supermarket bin even if it was there for just a few minutes due to tainting or unknown tampering by an unknown source which could end up with the taker becoming sick, or worse.