'Waste activist' dumpster diver reveals shocking amounts of discarded food

‘Waste activist’ dumpster diver reveals shocking amounts of discarded food that’s still in date as he films himself looking through a confectionery retailer’s bin

Auditing Waste UK is a content creator who makes TikTok and YouTube videos
In his videos, he shows himself dumpster diving, and finding discarded items
A recent clip showed him going to an online confectionary retailer
Among the items he found in the bin were bags of chocolates and sweets

By Maria Chiorando For Mailonline

A dumpster diver has revealed some of the items discarded by shops in videos shared on TikTok and YouTube.

Content creator, Martyn Hiscott, 45, from Kent, known as Auditing Waste UK, films videos of himself going through retailers’ bins to find and save items destined for landfill.

In his channel description, he says he is an ‘environmental defender and waste activist’, making videos that ‘highlight the waste practices of companies and fly tippers in the UK, from commercial waste, food waste to hazardous waste and illegally discarded waste’.

A recent video showed a trip to an online confectionary retailer, where the creator dug through the bins, to find piles of discarded chocolates, sweets, and other items.

The video, created by TikTokker Auditing Waste UK, highlights how much food is sent to landfill by retailers

Speaking in the TikTok video, he said: ‘Ok. I’m back again.

‘Let’s see if there’s anything here, shall we?’

What is dumpster diving?

Dumpster diving is the practice of going through rubbish to find items of use or value.

While technically legal in the UK, it is considered by some to be a grey area.

Products are considered abandoned goods once they are thrown away, and therefore they cannot be stolen.

However, dumpster divers are at risk of trespass if a bin is on private property.

UK supermarkets are estimated to throw away around 100,000 tonnes of edible food every year.

Dumpster divers are advised to exercise some caution when consuming food found in bins.

He then started to look through the bin, moving large amounts of cardboard aside, to reveal coffee syrup, a bag of charcoal briquettes, and boxes of chocolate among other items.

‘Oh wow, look at that,’ he said, while pulling a Bailey’s chocolate Christmas tree out of the bin.

‘That’s full of chocolates, and the [use by] date on that is [September] 2022.’

Pulling out a bag of sweets, he helds it up to the camera, saying: ‘Reese’s peanut butter cups.’

At the end of the clip, he panned to a large pile of rescued items, included boxes of hot chocolate and more confectionery.

An extended version of the video shared by the creator on his YouTube channel, also called Auditing Waste UK, prompted comments from viewers who were shocked by the amount of food waste.

One wrote: ‘It’s unreal the amount of usable stuff that gets thrown away it’s terrible really.’

Another added: ‘Wow it was like the never ending dumster of candy. my favs too. Can’t believe how much gets thrown it’s crazy x’

And a third said: ‘It p***** me off more the amount of cardboard and paper in that bin that could easily be recycled

‘And they couldn’t give that chocolate to a homeless organisation, I’m sure they’d love a chocolate treat.’

Commentators were surprised by the amount of food the content creator found discarded in the bin

Other videos created by Auditing Waste UK show him visiting major retailers, where he finds home decoration items, books, and more food destined for landfill.

He told FEMAIL he donates the majority of these wares to charity.

Martyn added that consumes a large amount of food found in dumpsters, and has been doing so for 35 years, and has never suffered from food poisoning in that time.

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