Social platform Neighbourly has announced that it will be expanding its food surplus scheme to include non-food product donations and said that Marks & Spencer has come on board.
Neighbourly said the planned expansion of its scheme was prompted by research it conducted with a number of its charity partners, which found that 92 per cent “would like to receive non-food donations, with cleaning and laundry products and toiletries the most requested products”.
Non-food items now being accepted by the surplus scheme include laundry, household items, toiletries, books, clothing as well as painting and DIY equipment.
Marks & Spencer is the first national retailer to use its “extended service”. M&S was also the first business to roll out Neighbourly Food, the platform’s food donation service, in late 2015, and now provides food donations from all of its stores across the UK. Lidl subsequently joined the scheme in 2016.
Louise Nicholls, head of responsible sourcing at M&S, said the move to non-food donations was part of the organisation’s commitment to becoming a “zero-waste” business by 2020.
Since it launched in 2015, Neighbourly said the scheme has “redistributed over 1,500 tonnes of surplus food – the equivalent of around 1.8 million meals” to over 700 different charity partners to pass on to those who need them. Charity partners include “homeless shelters, food banks and soup kitchens” as well as community centres and clubs.
Nick Davies, founder of the scheme, said: “Extending the Neighbourly platform from food to non-food is a huge and exciting step forward, not just for us, but for the charities we support, the retailers we work with and the communities in which they operate.
“The ability to redistribute unwanted but still useful surplus items will contribute to the reduction of raw material consumption, landfill use and CO2 levels, and of course is extremely beneficial to the work of charities and community groups.”
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