# Spaniards looking for food in the garbage



## Lonely (Aug 11, 2012)

This is Madrid, near a mall:


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## oronero (Aug 24, 2012)

That used to happen in UK supermarket bins a few years back...until they put the bins inside a locked compound, plus some store managers would empty things like bleach to try and stop the practice.

Recently the barging around the food 'reduced sections' at supermarkets has become more frantic...not long until we have 'supermarket rage'!

Sadly with the way that the finances of many countries are, being in a sorry state this may well become more visible all over the world!


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## Aron (Apr 30, 2013)

Lonely said:


> This is Madrid, near a mall:
> 
> 
> http://ep01.epimg.net/economia/imagenes/2013/05/03/actualidad/1367592834_505488_1367593792_noticia_normal.jpg[/
> ...


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

This is actually an image from 2012 - not any less shocking but not from today


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

People regularly visit the bins at the end of our street to scrounge for food. We see them daily. And we live in a "normal" middle class suburb of Seville, not some desperately poor area. A very sad sight indeed.


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## mickbcn (Feb 4, 2013)

Very sad...


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

It's terrible to see people doing this, but I have to say that it's not a new phenomenon - it's been going on for several years. _Reporteros_ and _Mi Camera y Yo _have done reports on this and now there are more food banks operating (Bancos de Alimentos). Here's an old article from the UK
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...4/Spanish-city-Girona-puts-locks-on-bins.html


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## 213979 (Apr 11, 2013)

Aron said:


> Lonely said:
> 
> 
> > This is Madrid, near a mall:
> ...


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

I've seen people rummaging around bins in Madrid for years. However it's usually for thrown away clothes and other such items. Walk through certain pedestrian underpasses in the centre and they'll be full of people roughing it. I've also seen gypsies jump inside paper/cardboard recycling bins (through the hole that you're meant to pass the papers through) and empty them out.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Chopera said:


> I've seen people rummaging around bins in Madrid for years. However it's usually for thrown away clothes and other such items. Walk through certain pedestrian underpasses in the centre and they'll be full of people roughing it. I've also seen gypsies jump inside paper/cardboard recycling bins (through the hole that you're meant to pass the papers through) and empty them out.


This became "news" a few years ago because it was ordinary Spanish people who were starting to do it, not the usual gypsies and north African immigrants.


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## virgil (May 3, 2012)

I used to rummage through the bins looking for yesterdays newspapers/magazines when I lived in Tenerife in the mid 90's.

It's surprising what y'all find in the garbage.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Lonely said:


> This is Madrid, near a mall:


What proof is there that they are looking for food and not something else? I often take a look in the bin near us when I am putting in rubbish and have "rescued" a few broom/mop handles for supporting tall plants on the patio.


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## Monkey Hangers (Jan 8, 2009)

I work in a British Supermarket here in San Javier. People daily root through the dumpster outside, some come on bikes, others in their cars, so they all ain't that poor! They just know good stuff gets thrown out


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

People round here, in this supposedly 'affluent' area, put out usable but unwanted stuff -clothes, furniture, shoes etc. - near the big basuras bins so those in need can help themselves. 
It's a good custom, imo.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

baldilocks said:


> What proof is there that they are looking for food and not something else? I often take a look in the bin near us when I am putting in rubbish and have "rescued" a few broom/mop handles for supporting tall plants on the patio.


The lot on the left look like they're just picking up their bags after a days intensive shopping down "El Corte Inglés"


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

People looking 'en la basura', has happened every day since I was born, mostly they look for items that they might sell to the 'Traperos', i.e. paper, metal, etc. 

Usually, these people were always the gitanos (gypsies), and then it was the latin-american people, i.e. ecuatorians, bolivians, or even western people like rumanians... 

Today, you might find some Spanish people too. Some. 

Where my mum lives, there is a big supermarket and everyday at the same time, you have a family of gypsies and a family of rumanians waiting outside at 9pm as that's when they throw away the rotten food from the supermarket. 

I can't see a supermarket in the background (the photo), so I assume they are looking for anything selleable, rather than food. 

Some newspapers wants to exagerate and in the process they make things 10 times worse. 

I can't see the faces of people in the photo apart from the one in the right hand corner, which clearly is not Spanish at all.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Lolito said:


> People looking 'en la basura', has happened every day since I was born, mostly they look for items that they might sell to the 'Traperos', i.e. paper, metal, etc.
> 
> Usually, these people were always the gitanos (gypsies), and then it was the latin-american people, i.e. ecuatorians, bolivians, or even western people like rumanians...
> 
> ...


I agree with all that you say, but would like to add that the number of Spanish people who are now looking in bins has definitely gone up. 
Gone up as much as the media would have us believe? I don't know. 
People who are looking through real necessity? Perhaps, and may be some are looking for stuff to sell on, a kind of rubbish/ trapero middle man. But, IMHO not many people who don't need to, look through bins...


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## Soy guiri (Dec 4, 2010)

Anyone who reads spanish newspapers or watches the tv will be well aware of the critical situation in Spain, there are a vast amount of normal people now living on the streets and ave little or no money, the ayudar in Spain is 428 euro a month, that won't pay some morgages let alone food electric etc, the food banks and local churches are doing everything they can, but it isn't enough


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## Sirtravelot (Jul 20, 2011)

I actually saw some men yesterday looking through the outside bins. Couldn't tell you if they were looking for food or not though.


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## Karen58 (Aug 1, 2012)

Sadly this shall be a common occurrence as the next two years progress into harder times (despite the political rhetoric that better times are coming). I visited Valencia for the day with two friends who have never seen this delightful city but sadly we witnessed street upon street of both Spanish & foreign beggars... Spanish women with photos of their children with placards stating they have the choice of feeding their children against paying the rent/mortgages. They have no state help as worked part-time to be good mums and now face eviction.. as we strolled around many beggars tapped us on the shoulder politely asking for the odd euro.. and now the local train has armed guards on board as mugging has become an issue. This was a snap-shot of reality and was heart rendering... who was the writer that said 'As I crossed the Pyrenees into Spain, I was in Africa'. This is the 21st century modern Europe for goodness sake and I count myself lucky to be able to return to the UK if all failed here and no matter what, our state system catches us.


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## Lonely (Aug 11, 2012)

baldilocks said:


> What proof is there that they are looking for food and not something else?


I don't know but you can ask to this site:


Mil días de austeridad | Economía | EL PAÍS


where they comment that picture with:



> Un grupo de personas busca en bolsas de basuras alimentos a las puertas de un centro comercial de Madrid. / L. MAGÁN


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## Bemused (Jun 1, 2013)

Maybe there is an opertunity to do a deal with all food shops in the city. Get volenteers to collect the food that is going to be thrown out and start a soup kitchen. Every bit of food is put into a cualdron with water and a decent fire underneath it. In no time you'll have a huge pot of soup that, once started never stops. You simply keep dding ingredients as they come to hand. Before you know it, everyone is getting, at least once a day, a reasonable, healthy plate of soup every day. And when the economy improves, you have a ready made "fast soup" outlet and people will travel far and wide to come and buy soup from the pot that never stops cooking.
Worth looking into, IMHO.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Bemused said:


> Maybe there is an opertunity to do a deal with all food shops in the city. Get volenteers to collect the food that is going to be thrown out and start a soup kitchen. Every bit of food is put into a cualdron with water and a decent fire underneath it. In no time you'll have a huge pot of soup that, once started never stops. You simply keep dding ingredients as they come to hand. Before you know it, everyone is getting, at least once a day, a reasonable, healthy plate of soup every day. And when the economy improves, you have a ready made "fast soup" outlet and people will travel far and wide to come and buy soup from the pot that never stops cooking.
> Worth looking into, IMHO.


That's an idea that could work. But I have to say that the phrase 'get some volunteers' makes me smile.
I help run a dog rescue and rehoming centre and I can tell you that volunteers are not that easy to find, even in these days.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

This idea has been more than "looked into". Jordi Evole from Salvados (a TV program for the non-resiedents) interviewed quite a few supermarket chain directors to try to get them to collaborate with such plans which are already in existance, initiated by varios NGOs.

Most were open to contributing some kind of help (at least infront of the camera), but you have to take into acount that a massive attitude change is required for anything like this level of solidarity to work.

Some supermarket chains actually sprayed (and possibly still do) all food that is discarded with bleach or diesel before throwing it away to disuade this kind of "bin picking".


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## Bemused (Jun 1, 2013)

Yeah, that is a shame. When people are in need I don't believe it does any harm to try and help. In any small way. So I am surprised that shops spray diesel, etc. Surely it can't do any harm to let people try and survive by any means. Well, nearly any, means.
Still think there is room to provide a soup kitchen. The long term benefits are also achievable, I believe.
Just takes a bit of effort. Like most things in life.


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## Guest (Jun 3, 2013)

Bemused said:


> Still I think there is room to provide a soup kitchen. The long term benefits are also achievable, I believe. Just takes a bit of effort. Like most things in life.


It isn't all that difficult. When I lived in the Haight Ashbury back in the 1960's and thousands of unhappy kids from somewhere else came looking for a new life in the "hippy" community, a group sprang up called the "Diggers". They scrounged around for housing, food, clothes, you name it. They worked out of an empty store front. The actor Peter Coyote was a member.

You are right, all it takes is effort... and a lot of heart, a sense of "us", and a life not devoted to accumulating the newest thing.

What seems to be missing today is a sense of community... I say that as a generalization. Most people are justifiably caught up in trying to keep their heads above water or trying to enjoy a well earned retirement... again a generalization.

Anybody remember the movie titled "Pay It Forward"? It is worth viewing.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Maybe they should try something like this?
It couldn't hurt.
Lebensmittel teilen, statt wegwerfen - foodsharing.de

Gourmet Food from Germany?s Garbage Dumpsters (26 pics) - Izismile.com


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## oronero (Aug 24, 2012)

I know that this is an old thread but just to show how easily good ideas are spread around the globe...

Three charged with stealing food from skip behind Iceland supermarket | UK news | The Guardian

...and to those that think the UK is doing well, it might not be in such a dire situation as Spain but things are far from' hunky dory'!


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## Justina (Jan 25, 2013)

If I was near you I would be there every day, with my own in tow. Cheers.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

I'm glad it's going to court as it will be a good test case. If Iceland threw the food away, it must be because it had no value to them, presumably because it had passed its sell-by date. So how can it be worth £33?

If food is still fit to eat it should be given to food banks. If it is a genuine health risk it should be destroyed or put in locked containers. Leaving it in skips and then blaming hungry people who help themselves is immoral and wrong.

EDIT: Just seen that Iceland aren't bringing the prosecution themselves. It's the CPS.

Iceland says it has asked CPS why men are being tried for taking food from bins


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> I'm glad it's going to court as it will be a good test case. If Iceland threw the food away, it must be because it had no value to them, presumably because it had passed its sell-by date. So how can it be worth £33?
> 
> If food is still fit to eat it should be given to food banks. If it is a genuine health risk it should be destroyed or put in locked containers. Leaving it in skips and then blaming hungry people who help themselves is immoral and wrong.
> 
> ...


The case against these guys doesn't seem likely to prosper. As people have already pointed out, how can you steal something that's already thrown away? If they were prosecuting for illegal entry into private property or theft of a trolley they might have a case.

On the subject of eating out of dumpsters:
Rob Greenfield biked 4,700 miles around the US in 104 days. During that time* 70%* of his diet came from dumpsters ! OK, it's the US and I don't think, (but don't know) the situation is the same anywhere in Europe, but you can bet that a high % of food is thrown away, and that % is growing. Have we gone off our heads completely? 4.46minute video


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

It's not just food. Many people lack basic furniture assuming they have accommodation in which to use it. My f-i-l, when they lived in Florida often used to bring home good stuff that had been thrown away and in fact we a have a couple of Laz-ee-Boy chairs here in Spain that came from that source.

I rescue broom handles and TV aerials.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

And if you're interested, more on food waste. 2 Short vids. The second talk is more specifically about the UK

(It was the subject of the week last week in a debating class I have  )


Study: 50% of Food Is Wasted - Video Dailymotion


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Whenever we have some object which we no longer have any use for and have to throw it away, we place it carefully by the rubbish bins (basuras) and 9 times out of 10 it has been claimed by someone who has a use for it. In Britain this would be against the law. I recall, many years ago, an employee of the MoD removed some broken, polystyrene ceiling tiles that had been dumped in a skip (the skip was on MoD property). He was dismissed and received a 6 month suspended prison sentence. Only in Britain eh???


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Apparently common sensed prevailed and prosecutors have dropped the case. Iceland has apparently frozen over at the news. (BBC breaking news)


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

thrax said:


> Whenever we have some object which we no longer have any use for and have to throw it away, we place it carefully by the rubbish bins (basuras) and 9 times out of 10 it has been claimed by someone who has a use for it. In Britain this would be against the law. I recall, many years ago, an employee of the MoD removed some broken, polystyrene ceiling tiles that had been dumped in a skip (the skip was on MoD property). He was dismissed and received a 6 month suspended prison sentence. Only in Britain eh???


Hahaha - it's against the law here too, but only if they catch you doing it!
It should be taken to the "Punto limpio" or equivalent (different names different regions)
I can't remember when we last threw out furniture. Never I think, but everything else goes to the dump where sometimes there's someone in a van asking to take it away instead of you dumping it.


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## jp1 (Jun 11, 2011)

thrax said:


> Whenever we have some object which we no longer have any use for and have to throw it away, we place it carefully by the rubbish bins (basuras) and 9 times out of 10 it has been claimed by someone who has a use for it. *In Britain this would be against the law*. I recall, many years ago, an employee of the MoD removed some broken, polystyrene ceiling tiles that had been dumped in a skip (the skip was on MoD property). He was dismissed and received a 6 month suspended prison sentence. Only in Britain eh???


I am afraid you are incorrect. In UK law for someone to be guilty of theft 5 points need to be proved. Basically you have to 1) Dishonestly, 2) Appropriate, 3) Property, 4) Belonging to another, 5) With the intention to permanently deprive.

Property that has been discarded in UK law does not have an owner and therefore you can never be found guilty of stealing items that have been discarded. You can merrily take things out of bins to your hearts content without being guilty of theft, if the item has truly been discarded.

These individuals were therefore charged under the Vagrancy act. Namely found on enclosed premises for an unlawful purpose. *They were not charged with theft*

Your MOD friend could not possibly have been charged with theft if the items were discarded and *had no owner*. If they somehow became the property of the disposal company as they recycled the material etc then it is less clear and he may have fallen foul of the fact that the tiles had merely changed ownership from the crown to the contractors.


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## andmac (Nov 9, 2010)

I don´t about the Spanish taking from bins, where we have our language school, a lot of Morrocans, Gypsys and Romanians do just this. We are in a small, afluent town outside Valencia but the poorest seem to survive this way. 
In these dark evenings, a walk around town reveals a veritable cornucopia of discarded treasure (or is that a load of old junk?) being pulled from the containers in the streets.
Some of the local inhabitants from the aforementioned ethnic groups even time their visits to the bins to coincide with the end of our breaks so they can pick up the *** ends. This is especially true before or after adult classes.


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

I go on a UK car forum & there are 2/3 people on there that pick up anything & everything. One chap is a motorway contractor & has built a triple garage & a large timber games room with the majority coming from items cleared from the motorway & various skips. 
Another is some sort of medical rep & he never leaves a hospital without first asking permission to rummage through their skips. :lol:
I'm not averse to a bit of skip rummaging . Amazing some of the stuff you find but it isn't on the UK scale .Last house we bought off-plan in the UK the builders had 2 huge skips & you could honestly nearly build & furnish your own house with some of the stuff that went in.
My door handles here are all new ones thrown out by them in the skip . If they incorrectly ordered fitted bedroom furniture it never went back but would end up in skip still in its boxes. It was handy being one of the first to move in ! 
When we were first here there used to be a local dump that you could access for tipping stuff. Most would come away with more than they took & one couple I know used to make a good living for 4 /5 years selling recovered items at the rastro's .


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## andoba (Jan 12, 2014)

If you understand Spanish to some point, this is one of the best videos you can see about the situation in Spain:

Salvados - Con la comida no se juega - 09122012 on Vimeo


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Bemused said:


> Maybe there is an opertunity to do a deal with all food shops in the city. Get volenteers to collect the food that is going to be thrown out and start a soup kitchen. Every bit of food is put into a cualdron with water and a decent fire underneath it. In no time you'll have a huge pot of soup that, once started never stops. You simply keep dding ingredients as they come to hand. Before you know it, everyone is getting, at least once a day, a reasonable, healthy plate of soup every day. And when the economy improves, you have a ready made "fast soup" outlet and people will travel far and wide to come and buy soup from the pot that never stops cooking.
> Worth looking into, IMHO.


We have a lot of organizations here in Canada that do just that - collect food that is destined for the garbage, and then feed it to the poor. The food comes from local cafes, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. There are places that serve meals for the poor and there are food banks where poor people can get food for free or discounted price. So are there no such programs in Spain?


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

AllHeart said:


> We have a lot of organizations here in Canada that do just that - collect food that is destined for the garbage, and then feed it to the poor. The food comes from local cafes, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. There are places that serve meals for the poor and there are food banks where poor people can get food for free or discounted price. So are there no such programs in Spain?


Yes, there are. Here is one national organisation.
Inicio

I always get the feeling however, that Spanish charities or NGO's are organised in different ways. They seem to rely on campaigns for example rather than making a constant presence.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

jp1 said:


> I am afraid you are incorrect. In UK law for someone to be guilty of theft 5 points need to be proved. Basically you have to 1) Dishonestly, 2) Appropriate, 3) Property, 4) Belonging to another, 5) With the intention to permanently deprive.
> 
> Property that has been discarded in UK law does not have an owner and therefore you can never be found guilty of stealing items that have been discarded. You can merrily take things out of bins to your hearts content without being guilty of theft, if the item has truly been discarded.
> 
> ...



I am not incorrect. It was what happened and I was working then in Army Personnel and I was the case officer. He took the items from a skip on MoD property and was first tried by the MoD Police system and found guilty. He then appeared in a civil court and received his sentence. This occurred 36 years ago. None of us at the time agreed with what happened to him, but happen, I'm afraid, it did.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

AllHeart said:


> We have a lot of organizations here in Canada that do just that - collect food that is destined for the garbage, and then feed it to the poor. The food comes from local cafes, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. There are places that serve meals for the poor and there are food banks where poor people can get food for free or discounted price. So are there no such programs in Spain?


Of course there are. Every town and village will have some programme or other, whether run by Cruz Rojo, Caritas or local volunteers.
In our nearest town there is a comedor social where those in need can get nourishing hot meals, a collection of food from local supermarkets and groceries and a regular collection of non-perishable foods organised by local volunteers.
In our village collection is done by Caritas.


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