Retailers offer end-of-day discounts in a bid to end food waste

More than 300 Australian retailers have chosen to wage a war on waste by offering end-of-day discounts on fresh food which would otherwise be thrown out.

Across Australia, so-called “dumpster divers” are making a meal of good, fresh food that’s otherwise left to rot.

“In retail, you have to have product on the shelf, but if it’s a slow day you may not sell that product,” Muffin Break’s Natalie Brennan said.

“In stores where we can’t actually work with a partner, it will go into the bin.”

At restaurants, cafes and takeaways, up to a third of what’s cooked in the morning ends up in a skip at night.

It’s often perfectly good food, thrown out simply because it hasn’t been sold.

YWaste is a free app that lists fresh food outlets offering end-of-day discounts.

From local haunts to national chains, there are 300 outlets already on board, offering savings of up to 80 per cent.

Customers can log on in the afternoon to see which retailers have surplus stock. You can then reserve your share, pay online, then turn up at closing and collect your produce.

“It’s quite diverse – just depending on the store and what they are willing to give at the end of the day,” YWaste user Amanda Webster said.

Not all stores discount every day – only if they’ve cooked too much – and there’s no guarantee of what you’ll get.

“The customer’s always free to have a refund if there’s nothing they fancy or nothing they feel like in the shop,” YWaste’s Ian Price said.