M&S to Investigate After Videos Show Wheelie Bins Full of Food
Edible items disposed of outside Chiswick store
At least a dozen bins were completely filled with food. Picture: Instagram
January 12, 2026
Marks and Spencer has begun an internal investigation after videos circulated online appearing to show large quantities of edible food being thrown away behind its newly refurbished Chiswick store in the days following Christmas.
The footage, posted on Instagram by the account @food_waste_inspector, shows at least a dozen large green wheelie bins filled with fresh produce and packaged goods. The campaigner behind the account, who regularly documents supermarket waste, said they visited the site after receiving a tip-off that the store would be disposing of unsold stock. In the videos, bags of Maris Piper potatoes, lemons, parsnips, broccoli, ready meals and other items can be seen. While some products carried yellow “reduced” stickers, many appeared to be within date. The footage highlighted boxes of chocolate sponge pudding marked with a best-before date of 12 January 2026, despite the video being filmed on 30 December 2025.
The campaigner suggested that the volume of waste was linked to M&S’s decision not to match the deep pre-Christmas vegetable discounts offered by other supermarkets. Retailers such as Sainsbury’s had sold potatoes, carrots, parsnips and sprouts for pennies in the run-up to Christmas, a strategy widely used to minimise post-holiday surplus. In the commentary accompanying the video, it was argued that failing to match competitors’ prices had resulted in “unnecessary waste on this scale.”
The bins shown in the footage were marked ReFood, a major UK food-waste recycling company that converts commercial food waste into renewable energy and fertiliser through anaerobic digestion. The bins were being loaded into a lorry parked on Chiswick Common Road, behind the store’s service entrance. A local resident who saw the videos contacted M&S but said she received only a generic response.
We asked the company about the videos and an M&S spokesperson said, "We are committed to tackling food waste and any edible surplus food in our stores is donated to local groups and charities each evening via our longstanding partnership with Neighbourly. In Chiswick, our store supports several local charities.
“We also have in-store schemes such as re-purposing unsold bakery loaves into frozen garlic bread to maximise shelf life and reduce waste. We are investigating these videos with the store team to make sure all food waste policies are being followed."
Neighbourly connects supermarkets and manufacturers with local charities, food banks and community groups. It enables same-day redistribution of edible surplus, ensures donations remain within the local community and provides traceability so retailers can monitor the volume and impact of their donations.
M&S has made public commitments to reduce food waste across its operations and has pledged to halve waste by 2030 in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The company says it redistributes millions of meals’ worth of surplus food each year through Neighbourly, and it publishes annual data on the volume of food waste generated across its food business. Its approach includes daily redistribution of edible surplus, price reductions on short-dated items, product development aimed at extending shelf life and improved forecasting to reduce over-ordering. It has acknowledged that any food that cannot be redistributed is sent for recycling through partners such as ReFood.
Despite these commitments, M&S has faced criticism in the past from campaigners who have alleged that edible food was being discarded rather than donated, particularly during peak trading periods such as Christmas. Some environmental groups have also questioned the transparency of voluntary reporting and argued that supermarkets should be subject to mandatory food-waste disclosure.
At least a dozen bins were completely filled with food. Picture: Instagram
The person who filmed the video is urging anyone with concerns about this issue to sign a petition for a change in the law requiring supermarkets not to waste edible food.
France made it illegal for large supermarkets to throw away edible food in 2016. Since then, supermarkets over 400 m² must donate unsold but still - safe food to charities or food banks instead of destroying it. This law was the first of its kind in the world and carries fines for non - compliance.
The cause of the apparent disposal of edible food at the Chiswick store remains unclear, and M&S now says it is working with staff to establish whether established procedures were followed. The incident has prompted renewed scrutiny of supermarket waste practices at a time when food insecurity remains a significant issue for many households.
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