Nottinghamshire Indymedia

Events

Startpage

> UK Indymedia
> Global Indymedia

> Guidelines
> Chatroom
> About Us
> Security

> Projects
> On Ya Mobile
> Local Weather

Support Us

We are an all volunteer collective and receive no regular funding. Please consider donating.


Local Events

This events wire is no longer being updated. Please use the new site to publicise events.

More local events on Veggies/Sumac Diary


Freedom of Information

Search archives

Topics

Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech

M&S’ shame

skips | 17.03.2007 12:49 | Climate Chaos | Ecology | Health

Consumer giant Marks and Spencer leap to astonishing and shameful lengths to protect profits by hoarding, wasting and spoiling food.

The scale of the trade in which supermarkets engage makes managing stock loss more of a challenge; at least the responsibility for ensuring food does not get wasted is shared among a greater number of persons. When the aim is simply to move as much stock as possible, those on the ground may recognise they are responsible too, but they have little control over what fills the shelves and remains there at the end of the day. There is no difference in their rewards either. While from everyone’s point of view it is undesirable for a chain of supermarkets to waste food, it happens, and does so on a scale to suit the size of the operation, as well as its efficiency. As long as we have supermarkets like Tesco and Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, executives will preside over decisions such as what is done with stuff that doesn’t get sold before it reaches its best before date. These decisions give the decision-makers great power; power over food that they never produced, would never need or get near to. But power to direct food into skip-bins, or into hungry people’s hands.

I think a lot of us know what happens to a lot of foods that may be billed as ‘expired’, but in fact are in edible condition. To regulate these massive operations and avoid giving responsibility to workers, products are given sell-by dates that more often than not do not reflect their true edible lifespan. This is the case with all foods, and with fresh fruit and vegetables, the most important, it is more the case than with other types of food product. As they reach their dates of destiny, fruit and vegetables are bagged and thrown into bins, but very often they are approaching, at or near their peak level of ripeness for consumption. This is not to deny the existence of charities which persuade companies to allow products no longer eligible for sale to be collected and distributed to people in need. I cannot guess what proportion of this type of stock-loss is redistributed by this process. But whether it is high or low, the shame remains- kilogram upon kilogram is smuggled into bin after bin, this shop to the next, day in day out, in town and city across this beautifully rich country.

So who are the worst offenders when it comes to food wasting? Again I cannot publish facts and figures, but my experiential evidence compels me to name and shame Marks & Spencer, who in my experience go to far greater lengths than other stores to prevent food they have bought and failed to sell, from being eaten.

From observing food wastage from a range of sources, M&S rank high among supermarkets. Many large operations employ the practice of reducing short-dated foods in price to avoid them becoming illegible for sale, and minimise impact on profits. Marks and Spencer do not employ this practice. This might be to promote an image of a company that sells only the best produce. For customers it could also create the illusion that they are a strong operation because you do not see reduced products on the shelves as you do elsewhere. The operation is not tight however. All that happens is, foods at the end of their shelf-life are neatly unstacked and placed onto the trolley from whence they came, before being wheeled back to the warehouse, scanned and finally bagged and put into the bin with other rubbish, to be collected by the council and sent to landfill or for incineration.

As stated, it has been observed that Marks and Spencer chuck lots of stuff away. Lots of fancy food, and decent fruit and veg, as well as other oddities and delicacies: in such bins resides the dirty conscience of the consumer, buried by the high street pushers of Capitalism. What also happens, is on the fringes of Capitalism people try to take fresh, edible, nutritious foods from bins. If witnessed, this can unnerve employees of the responsible supermarkets. But Marks and Spencer go to extra-special lengths to stop people’s attempts to prevent foods from being wasted. Here in Nottingham the shop has in the long term employed the practice of keeping its business waste refuse skip-bins inside its premises, in its warehouse, where fresh foods are delivered and stored. This is in breach of food hygiene and health and safety regulation.
This report can also reveal, that the Nottingham M&S branch are also now adopting a new range of measures to deter homeless, hungry and other people from sourcing food from where it has been committed to becoming pollution. Food Spoiling. Before being put in the bin, the packaging of all products is opened to allow cross-contamination from other waste. In addition, the discarded food is covered with blue dye. These two measure combined make a strong deterrent, because not only does the practice make food vulnerable to contamination from other waste. It further contaminates food with unpalatable dye and creates a spoil hazard for people’s skin and clothes.

These are dirty tricks, stooping lower for the love of the dollar, than any man, woman or animal would by foraging for their lives.

Shame on Marks & Spencer.

skips

Download this article in pdf format >>
Email this article to someone >>
Submit an addition or make a quick comment on this article >>

its not just nottingham

19.03.2007 09:45

its norwich too. i know from an insider that the ink bath is something they practice there too. disturbingly, it seems they have a nationwide practice, which makes it even more disgusting.

I was very interested to find your story. i will be taking this further. thanks for being indy and on the case!
jox

jox
mail e-mail: jojohobo@gmail.com


Environmental Protection, indeed!!

21.03.2007 01:32

it has never stuck me as particularly environmental in outlook. But it is part of enviro law, that is an offence to 'skip'. I guess the priority is to profit, rather than recycling. So, nothing new there then .......!

1990 Environmental Protection Act, which makes taking items from skips an offence.

 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1990/Ukpga_19900043_en_3.htm#mdiv60

Section 60 :: Interference with waste sites and receptacles for waste.

60.—(1) No person shall sort over or disturb—
(a) anything deposited at a place for the deposit of waste provided by a waste collection authority, by a waste disposal contractor under arrangements made with a waste disposal authority or by any other local authority or person or, in Scotland, by a waste disposal authority;
(b) anything deposited in a receptacle for waste, whether for public or private use, provided by a waste collection authority, by a waste disposal contractor under arrangements made with a waste disposal authority, by a parish or community council or by a holder of a waste management licence or, in Scotland, by a waste disposal authority or a roads authority; or
(c) the contents of any receptacle for waste which, in accordance with a requirement under section 46 or 47 above, is placed on any highway or, in Scotland, road or in any other place with a view to its being emptied;
unless he has the relevant consent or right to do so

Tash