Tesco: being a Food Waste Hero

Why are Food Waste Heroes collecting surplus food from Tesco?

Tesco is working with local charities to distribute as much of their surplus food as possible, however, there are Tesco stores where no local charity is available to collect any surplus food. Tesco and OLIO have therefore partnered so that OLIO Food Waste Heroes can come to the rescue and ensure that as much good food as possible gets saved from the bin!

Why is the food not going to charities?

The majority of Tesco’s surplus food is going to charities. However, in some areas and stores there are no charities available. To avoid the food going to waste, OLIO Food Waste Heroes come to the rescue and collect the surplus food instead. Whenever a charity is able to take on collection days currently assigned to OLIO, they will take precedence and replace OLIO. If this happens to a Food Waste Hero’s slot, they will be notified immediately in their group chat.

How do I know if my local Tesco is taking part?

If you cannot see any collection slots from your local Tesco store on the OLIO Volunteer Hub under ‘’Available Collection Slots’’, it’s either that: the store is being serviced by a charity or all available slots have already been claimed by other OLIOers.

Can I approach my local Tesco store to sign them up to OLIO?

Collections from Tesco are organised centrally by OLIO. Please do not approach a store and inquire about OLIO. Instead, please check on the Volunteer Hub for any new slots becoming available.

Will my local Tesco store take part in OLIO in the future?

This depends on whether there’s a charity collecting from your local store in the future. To be notified of new collection slots becoming available in your neighbourhood, please sign up as a Food Waste Hero and enable ‘Notifications’ for new collection slots on the Volunteer Hub.