When the government introduced social distancing measures last month as a response to Covid-19, some took it as an end of the world warning and began stockpiling in their droves.
Panic buying swept the nation, with people buying far more than they needed despite supermarkets urging customers that they had enough to go around.
Now, photos emerging on social media show that surplus food bought by stockpilers is being thrown in the bin because - surprise, surprise - they simply didn't need it.
*Sigh.*
All those panic buyers who emptied the shelves and are now doing this should be fined!
Pictures taken by refuse collectors on their rounds!
Absolutely fuming!! pic.twitter.com/8TCZWR3pl8
- James Howarth (@jimbo_lmr) March 28, 2020
Twitter user James Howarth shared some photos taken by rubbish collectors doing the rounds, which showed bins overflowing with fresh produce.
Photos show bags of potatoes thrown in the bin, as well as fresh fruit, bread and meat that's passed its sell-by date because people simply did not get round to eating it. Well, duh.
to all the people in this great city of ours in Derby, if you have gone out & panic bought like a lot of you have & stacked up your houses with unnecessary items you don't normally buy or you have bought in more food than you need, then you need to take a good look @ yourself pic.twitter.com/fpYdGBu6M4
- Ajit Singh Atwal (@AtwalAjit) March 27, 2020
Last week Lib Dem councillor Ajit Singh Atwal posted similar scenes from his home town of Derby, where he berated panic buyers.
"If you have gone out & panic bought like a lot of you have & stacked up your houses with unnecessary items you don't normally buy or you have bought in more food than you need, then you need to take a good look @ yourself," he tweeted.
the amount of folk am seeing filling their bins with all their out of date panic buy is disgusting!! yous have literally left half a nation stuck for essentials bs of your greed for it to get wasted meanwhile folk still can't get shit! greedy selfish disgusting fucks
- serbadonk (@ninamazicx) March 29, 2020
On social media I keep seeing photos of outdoor bins full of WASTED food and it makes me so mad!!! This is exactly why you shouldn't panic buy, theres people who struggle to even have one meal a day & would do anything for that food. :pensive:
- lily (@_lxlyevie) March 29, 2020
Thankfully, supermarkets are reporting stock levels returning to normal as stockpiling has died down.
In an email to its customers on Tuesday, Tesco said: "The good news is that, thankfully, most of the panic buying seems to have eased, and a new, more normal, pattern is emerging.
"In fresh food, our stock levels have returned to almost normal levels, with plenty of fruit and vegetables available."
It's great that people are finally realising stockpiling is a literally pointless exercise. But did it really take all that food waste to realise? We despair...
If you have found yourself with surplus food, why not donate it to a food bank?
The Trussell Trust runs the UK's sole food bank network and aims to end poverty and hunger in the country. You can donate food directly to your nearest food bank.
