Late Collections Policy
What is the late collections policy?
The late collections policy allows Food Waste Heroes who claimed a collection slot that is 10pm or later, to share the food at their own discretion. This ensures that food is saved and not wasted, even if it’s not all shared through the app.
For any items that you wish to keep simply take one photo of everything in the same frame and follow the instructions below* (What should I do with the food I choose to keep?).
Why does Olio have this policy in place?
Late collection slots can be tricky due to time and safety concerns. Many volunteers feel uncomfortable sharing food late at night, especially with people they haven’t met before.
Some volunteers also find it difficult to find requestors at this time in the night, this is especially true if the food has a use-by date of midnight.
This policy aims to make late-night collections safer and more appealing to volunteers, ensuring food is still rescued from going to waste.
Do I have to share food collected at 10pm or later?
You can share food at your discretion. While we encourage sharing as much as possible, if you’re collecting at 10pm or later, you can share or keep as much of the food as you’re comfortable with, following the outlined steps to document what you’ve kept.
This policy applies both to Use-by and Best Before items you collect at 10 pm or later.
What should I do with the food I want to share?
For the food you want to share, follow the usual process:
- Add the items to the app as normal
- Share the food as widely as possible by following our tips and tricks for getting requests
Remember that ambient best-before items can be shared beyond that date, just use your best judgement on quality, and chilled items up to 24 hours from collection.
*What should I do with the food I choose to keep?
If you decide to keep any items, follow these steps to help us track the impact of the food saved:
- Take a single photograph showing all the food you’re keeping
- Add a listing in the app using this photo
- In the listing, select the correct collection slot from the drop-down menu
- Enter the number of items in the quantity section
- Title your listing with the business name and “late collection” (e.g., “Sainsbury’s late collection”)
- Mark the listing as “picked up” immediately by going to the hamburger menu > “My Listings” > “Someone is collecting this”
Why do I need to add a listing for the food I’m keeping?
Creating a listing and marking it as picked up helps us track the amount of food saved and provides valuable data to our business partners. This ensures transparency and allows us to report on the positive impact of food waste reduction.
Should I add my 10% allowance to the listing to show what I’m keeping?
No, you don’t need to include the items you’re keeping as part of your 10% allowance.
Do I still need to share as much food as possible?
Yes, we encourage you to share as much food as you can, but only if you feel comfortable doing so. If the circumstances make it difficult or unsafe, you can share the food at your discretion without feeling pressured to share everything.
How has the policy helped?
After testing the policy, we saw a 16% increase in late-night collection coverage. Volunteers also reported feeling safer and more comfortable knowing they could keep food if they didn’t feel able to share it at night.
Does this policy apply to all collections?
This policy applies to ALL businesses.
However, it applies ONLY to collections scheduled at 10pm or later. For earlier collections, the usual process of sharing as much food as possible still applies.