Guest 774- Registered: 1 Oct 2012
- Posts: 498
Is it just me or is this a complete waste of tax payers money? The food was being thrown out by Iceland and they didn't even report the loss to the police.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-25945052
Better the food is being eaten than ending up in landfill. Let it go already.
"If it ain't broke, fix it til it is."
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
i thought it was up to iceland whether or not they press charges.
no supermarket would complain about "skipping" anyway.
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,895
This is a complete waste of taxpayers money by the CPS and also the police and must be costing us thousands of pounds. Reading the comments from Iceland they do not sound exactly pleased about the proposed prosecutions.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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Guest 715- Registered: 9 Jun 2011
- Posts: 2,438
Iceland must have supported the prosecution, no complainant no job surely.
Audere est facere.
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,895
Not in this case it seems, from Gary's link...............
In a statement, Iceland said: "The store in question is next door to a police station. Iceland staff did not call the police, who attended on their own initiative.
"Nor did we instigate the resulting prosecution, of which we had no knowledge until the media reports of it appeared yesterday evening.
"We are currently trying to find out from the Crown Prosecution Service why they believe that it is in the public interest to pursue a case against these three individuals, and will comment further when we are more fully informed."
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
this also highlights the amount of food thrown away that is still perfectly edible.
"skipping" would not be so widespread otherwise.
i know that some shops send sandwiches on their last use by date to homeless hostels and the like,
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,895
I have just read that the case has been dropped, it seems common sense does happen now and then.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
taking the subject of waste a bit further, some years ago i was passing b & q in town and noticed two staff members loading pot plants into a skip. had a quick look and although i am no plant expert most looked in need of a sprucing up, water and feeding.
i asked if it was ok to take a couple, the reply came back "take as many as you want, they're all destined for the tip.
so i took two, a yucca and a rubber plant and they are still doing ok - when did b & q move out?
Andy B
- Location: dover
- Registered: 10 Nov 2012
- Posts: 1,820
Back in the 70s i was stopped by police as i was removing an old dumped moped from a skip,they said i could be charged with theft by finding.Luckily at the time the shop owner returned and said it was ok for me to take it.The police were not very happy
as they couldnt do anything about it.Not sure if that law still applies.
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
not long after it burnt down and rebuilt howard,moved up to whitfield now.
Guest 756- Registered: 6 Jun 2012
- Posts: 727
The law still applies, if you have the owners permission you can take items to recycle.
Some years ago I used to visit the residents at the Simon Community Farm near Canterbury. Every evening the workers used to go to Canterbury M&S to collect food items , some slightly damaged or because they had reached their sell by date. Maybe this scheme could be applied to local food banks as I am sure they could have a "bank" of families who would be grateful to recieve such goods.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
as things stand food banks are not in a position to offer this sort of service.
they only collect long life products that they store and give to clients on presentation of a voucher on set days within set hours.
i might be wrong but i doubt that many have enough volunteers to be on stand by at the end of shop hours to provide this service.
Guest 756- Registered: 6 Jun 2012
- Posts: 727
Fair point Howard, still seems that we beat ourselves up for wasting food and that is a drop in the ocean compared to that which supermarkets throw away.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
not just supermarkets lesley, the general public in the western world fail to utilise food.
every year for the past 11 years this tree 2 doors from me is laden with cooking apples and every year they fall to the ground to rot or trodden on. this photo was taken 2 days ago with just a few left.
we live in the era of the freezer, i often wonder how many hundreds of delicious apple pies and jars of chutney the tree could deliver each year.
Guest 649- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 14,118
And all the milk they put into the sea by pipe line each day so I have been told.
Guest 1172- Registered: 28 Jan 2014
- Posts: 179
Meanwhile, foodbank queues grow longer

Guest 756- Registered: 6 Jun 2012
- Posts: 727
Anyone else remember the butter mountain? I recall my Nan going to St Marys Hall to collect her share!
Guest 649- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 14,118
Yes and they gave it way in the shops in the end,we had some.

howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
the wine lake was another one - results of a giant bureaucracy at work.
Guest 1172- Registered: 28 Jan 2014
- Posts: 179
What about the potatoes? - Maggie dyed them blue so they couldn't be given away!