Tesco to give away unsold food for free in zero-waste push
Tesco is to give away unsold food for free as part of a drive to hit its net-zero targets.
The UK’s largest retailer is to start labelling food that is set to go out of date with yellow stickers that read £0, reported The Telegraph.
The policy is an update to Tesco’s current yellow sticker discount system, where prices are usually lowered to a minimum of 90p.
The trial has been introduced in a number of its Express stores, where shoppers can take the free food after 9:30 pm.
In an internal memo, seen by the title, Tesco said the initiative will still see it give some food to charities, while staff will take priority for yellow sticker products that have been discounted.
Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning
However, any leftover food will be reduced to free, with Tesco telling its colleagues the new scheme would allow it to “continue with our drive to reduce food waste within our own operations”.
The new pilot follows Tesco’s partnership with surplus food charities. In December, it reported an “overwhelming” response to its Winter Food Collection initiative, with customers donating 1.9 million meals’ worth of long-life food items.
Tesco’s decision to start giving away food for free comes amid its race to achieve its sustainability targets. The company has pledged to cut food waste by 50% by 2025 as part of a wider net zero push. The company described the goal as “ambitious” in its latest annual report.
Chief executive Ken Murphy warned in January that businesses that won’t adopt sustainability practices risk being “punished” by consumers.
6 Comments. Leave new
Very good news. I hope Asda does the same, as they waste tons of food.
Hello when will this start in ng17 area please
Fantastic idea
All shops should do that. Food waste is a crime and impacts our world badly for no reason. Time to stop this blight.
Should give it to places like Africa or countries with desperate need or homeless people locally
I would like free food the charity I am doing
How do I get it from tesco