Petition Decriminalise taking food waste from supermarket bins

UK supermarkets throw away an estimated 10.2m tonnes of food per year. Many of the items that land in the bin are still safe for consumption beyond the best before dates - think bagged dry foods, tins, fruit & vegetables. Taking discarded food from supermarket bins should not be a criminal offence.

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Food waste is one of the biggest challenges we face today. 14 million people live in poverty, yet we dispose of 10.2 million tonnes of food every year - this does not add up.

We must increase pressure on supermarkets to reduce food waste. By decriminalising taking food from their bins we give an incentive to invest in better planning methods to avoid overestimates. If they do not want to allow taking food from their bins, they must provide alternative strategies, e.g. give to homeless shelters.

This petition closed early because of a General Election Find out more on the Petitions Committee website

248 signatures

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10,000

Date closed 6 November 2019
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