This is your trash, America

[Generic Other]

AOL's bargain babe--the official coupon clipper consumer--goes dumpster diving. I was surprised by her reaction to the experience. Why don't more people get it? These corporations should be ashamed of their lack of compassion.

<snip>
We were kicked out of a dumpster tonight. We’ve been kicked out before, but each time revives the ire within me and absolutely boils my blood. Two managerial white men with Hawaiian print shirts told us that we needed to leave or else they would call the cops. They “put” the trash there for a reason, they said. So we ask, “why don’t you donate it?” (Look at my pictures. Yeah they donate a lot, but they also throw out perfectly edible food. I’ve never gotten sick from it. It has fed multiple families. It needs to be cleaned, but you can eat it. Especially unnerving is the amount of meat we find. We raise and slaughter a life for nothing. I find whole chickens almost every night, but because I’m a vegetarian I don’t eat them. In ancient times people used to sacrifice animals to the gods. To whom do we sacrifice these animals?)

Their answer is robotic and expected. “It’s the law,” they say. “We could get sued.” Keep in mind, we’re digging in the trash. The laws are put in place to protect citizens from harm. This is no longer the case, it seems. Laws are here to protect corporations. But it is now in their hands. I now believe that if you are participating within the system then you are responsible for the system. No one is off the hook. Every single person in America can finger point. But we are all responsible for our choices and we all hold the blame. We are all reaping the rewards of this pathetically consumptive and entitled society. We are standing on the shoulders of the laborers.
<snip>


http://allisonburtch.com/

[NV Whino]

1. Correct me if I'm wrong, but

it seems to me once you put something in the trash, it's fair game. Cops, FBI etc do not need a warrant to go through your trash once it is curbside. If it is on their property, trespassing might come into play though.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. This is trash put out by your supermarket

things that are still good, but not sellable... it looks like

So health and safety laws come into play.

I used to fight that fight with the college cafeteria. In the end they ended up donating quite a bit of what was left at the end to the homeless shelter... but that was after a lot of talking to the health department.

[slampoet]

17. California v. Greenwood 486 U.S. 35 (1988), I carry a copy with me whenever Dumpster Diving

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=486&invol=35

This is the decision that legalized Dumpster Diving. Essentially once someone puts it on the curb or in a dumpster they have NO legal right to it anymore.

Always carry a copy of this with you.

[frogmarch]

2. I was once told by

a restaurant owner that he threw food away instead of donating it to a charity or giving it directly to someone in need, because he didn't want to get sued - again - by someone claiming the food made him ill.

[Joe the Revelator]

11. This is absolutely correct. If you want to get mad, support tort reform

If you don't, don't get mad when businesses don't want to open themselves up to liability that makes no one but a plaintiff's attorney richer.

[depakid]

18. Wow- a more stupefying misunderstanding of the issues would be difficult to imagine

[Lorien]

27. Bullshit. See post #22. nt

[Iggo]

30. Yeah! It's the fucking lawyers!

:rofl:

[Raineyb]

37. Tort reform is NOT the answer.

What an asinine conclusion. Tort reform is what is touted usually by large corporations and their shills to limit monetary damages to a number so low that there is no incentive to actually correct anything. They just write it off meanwhile the person who had been harmed can't cover the expenses incurred by the corporation's greed.

Typical right wing bullshit posturing.

[lunatica]

3. I used to beg the restaurants I worked in to donate left over food

They always said the same thing. If those laws were changed they could donate food to soup kitchens. There could be some sort of inspection of all donated food from restaurants to see if it was freshly cooked that day. I know of places that sell their day old bread and not so fresh meats at a discount. I know Supermarkets do it all the time. They usually have some sticker on the food saying it's older and needs to be sold by a certain date. I buy that food all the time.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. They have a program here where restaurants donate to a local food pantry

and to soup kitchens. I assumed this was a common practice in other cities. Sorry to hear it is not.

[lunatica]

33. My experience was 30 years ago. I'm glad to hear times have changed

[galileoreloaded]

5. YOu don't even WANT to know what COSTCO does with returns.

Not broken stuff, mind you. Just returns. Lets just say they DON'T get restocked or resold, even to employee's.

It all gets crushed. Almost 100% of it.

[Incitatus]

19. That is not unusual.

If a food item has left the store and been returned, it will not be resold. I don't know any grocery store that doesn't have that policy.

[galileoreloaded]

32. Not talking about food items. Clothes, computers, bicycles. n/t

[ixion]

6. We lived off dumpster diving the local grocery store for a spell when I lived in Alaska

We ate well.

[Generic Other]

7. Slap a damn sticker on ther dumpster that says: EAT AT OWN RISK

Isn't that how you avoid law suits?

I just hate seeing the waste when so many are going hungry.

[Joe the Revelator]

12. Don't be naive.

[Generic Other]

14. I see signs like this posted in lots of places

If there's no lifeguard on duty, the sign says "swim at your own risk." I don't think I am naive to assume that means I can't sue if my kid drowns when I ignored the sign. Aren't these signs posted to minimize liability all the time?

[KittyWampus]

8. DU'ers have explained this multiple times. Unsold food gets credited to the store's account

by the distributor with the understanding it is destroyed. The stores no longer own that food.

Also, DU'ers seem to support regulating food distribution when it's convenient but not when it seems inconvenient.

A lot of places around here do donate to food banks.

You want to eliminate a lot of this sort of waste? The only real way to do it is go back to locally raised produce and meat.

Do you remember when milk was delivered?

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. I am all for local

and I am also willing to bet that is the direction we will move towards as the cost of bringing oranges from Chile sky rocket while we send OUR oranges to China... and China sends theirs to Autralia

[Generic Other]

10. So your point is let the food rot and let the poor starve?

Seems like this is one time when natural law trumps the laws of man. People with consciences do not tell hungry people to "F" off without becoming less human themselves.

[Quantess]

15. Throwing away meat is disturbing.

I find that incredibly disrespectful to the animals. I'm a meat eater, but I think it is wrong to waste meat.

[Blue Owl]

16. +1

It is disrespectful and unceremonious.

[The Midway Rebel]

20. It is sinful, stupid and bad karma to be so wasteful when so many are in need.

Here is how we do it in KC. Nobody should be going hungry in America. Especially children.

My wife's restauraunt donated thousands of dollars worth of food to this place.

You can help too.

http://www.harvesters.org/

[Kablooie]

21. The problem isn't the stores. It's the system. If they didn't do this they would get sued.

To solve this there needs to be a rethink of our legal an capitalist systems.

Don't think that's going to happen soon though.

[The Midway Rebel]

22. Pardon the cut and paste but yes, we can!

Good Samaritan Law
In 1996, Congress created a federal Good Samaritan Act to protect food banks and their donors. The Act was named for Rep. Bill Emerson, R-Missouri, who fought for the proposal but died of cancer before it was passed. On Oct. 1, 1996, President Clinton signed the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act to encourage the donation of food and grocery products to non-profit organizations for distribution to needy individuals. This law makes it easier to donate. Here's how:
It protects donors from liability when donating to a non-profit organization.


It protects donors from civil and criminal liability should the product donated in good faith later cause harm to the needy recipient.


It standardizes donor liability exposure. Donors and their legal counsel no longer have to investigate liability laws in 50 states.


It sets a liability floor of "gross negligence" or intentional misconduct for persons who donate grocery products.


It recognizes that the provision of food close to recommended date of sale is, in and of itself, not grounds for finding gross negligence. For example, cereal can be donated if it is marked close to code date for retail sale.

[Generic Other]

23. Thanks for this post to clear things up

As if people have to have a law to tell them it's ok to do the right thing!

[Kablooie]

24. I didn't know that. This should get more airplay.

And organizations that distribute food should make arrangements with local stores so they can pick it up regularly.

[onpatrol98]

28. Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act

The Emerson Act does not alter or interfere with State or local health regulations. So, establishments have to "also" be certain of what is required by their local laws.

So, unfortunately, even with this great act, you can still get into trouble in your particular state or city. In addition, even the Emerson Act says you're still liable if you knew something was wrong with the food. This is a good thing, of course.

But, it's not a stretch to believe someone would be willing to try to prove that you knew something was wrong with the food, even if you really didn't.

For instance, your small restaurant donates food to an establishment that then rewarms it, or serves it later, or whatever. Now, people get sick. You say it's the pantry's fault, the pantry says its your fault, after all, it was your food. In reality, it could be no one's fault.

But, if you're a small business owner, you just have to be extra careful.

[Lorien]

25. A K&R for this post! nt

[ReverendDeuce]

26. ... Hoarders ...

This is hoarding behavior. I've seen the show. Dumpster diving is hoarding.

[rivercat]

29. looks like trader's joe's...

I worked there and was encouraged to throw perfectly good products away.

[krabigirl]

39. Of course..and then they talk about how socially "responsible" and "green" they are.

a joke, all of it.

[Hekate]

31. Ouch. Most of this is Trader Joe's, my favorite grocery store. The Food Bank would no doubt take...

... much of these items in a heartbeat.

Hekate

[GoCubsGo]

34. Most of the grocery stores in my town mark stuff down.

At half price or less, just about everything gets sold. Even meat that's about to go out of date. I buy it sometimes. It goes straight in the freezer. I'll even freeze milk and hard cheese. Haven't tried freezing eggs yet, but the next time I run across a bargain, I think I may try it. Usually, I hard-boil some, and then go on a baking frenzy, or make a quiche.

[madmom]

35. Unfortunately I've seen a lot of this too. I used to work

in the deli at a certain store everyone loves to hate. Every morning we had to (first thing) go through and look for expiration dates on everything in our department. It got tossed into the trash if it expired that day. Most of our stuff was "fresh" as in made there, but some was prepackaged or frozen. It breaks your heart to think of hungry people while doing this.:cry:

[Mercuryman]

36. Amazing

Land o' plenty, so many hungry.

[Mithreal]

38. Thank you for posting this.