Waste not, want not: part 2

StreetSmart may be asking diners to help the homeless by leaving a small donation on their bill (see Tuesday's post), but another organisation Foodbank is taking the opposite tack to help alleviate hunger, asking big business to donate food in bulk.

Known as the “pantry of the welfare system”, Foodbank Australia is Australia’s largest national food relief organisation, distributing more than 18 million kilograms of food last year to welfare agencies nationally for use in prepared meals and food parcels. That’s the equivalent of about 60,000 meals every day.

While the corporate feel-good factor for the more than 500 producers and retailers who regularly donate (including Campbell Arnotts, Golden Circle, Goodman Fielder, Coles & Woolies) is a no-brainer, there’s another benefit to the scheme which shouldn’t be underestimated: the reduction of food waste. Producers and retailers often end up with food that is perfectly safe but is unable to be sold for one reason or another – perhaps because the packaging is damaged or it’s close to its use-by date – and which would usually end up at the tip. Skips behind supermarkets are notorious for being full of dented tins, deleted product lines and day old bread.

Such profligate waste has led a small but growing number of people to turn to “skip dipping”, a form of conscientious objection to consumerism which involves going through commercial skips and rubbish bins for useful goods, including food. Also known as “freegans”, the majority of skip dippers are well-educated urban dwellers for whom saving money is secondary to making a point about the amount of “stuff” - about 1.6 tonnes per person - Australians send to landfill every year.

While supermarkets are understandably less than impressed with the idea of people turning their trash into dinner, and actively do what they can to discourage it, freegans maintain it’s possible to live well (and without risk to their health) on food that is thrown away.

Skip dipping isn’t for everyone – you won’t find me skulking around behind my local Coles – but is it really such a bad idea to minimise the amount of waste that goes to landfill? Items such as beauty products, light bulbs, electrical goods, tools and clothing are apparently also up for grabs. You could argue that it’s no different from picking up a funky lampshade or old stool from a neighbour’s nature strip on council pick-up day. At the very least, the practice should serve as a reminder to be more conscious of what we throw away.