Deliveroo bags used to deliver food across the city are being left outdoors overnight in unsanitary conditions, chained to dirty railings behind the Arndale. According to local residents, it’s a practice that has been going on ‘for months’.
PR consultant India Morris, who lives nearby, says that the bags are left there by delivery riders, and that the number of bags varies every day, suggesting that they are in use and not simply discarded kit. Posting a shot of the bags to Twitter, she tagged in the multi-national company to bring the problem to their attention, with other users noting that they 'see it every morning'.
She was then shocked when the company’s ‘escalation team’ got back to her and asked to dispose of them herself. Deliveroo also offered her the option of prepaid postage labels to send them back to the company.
She told the Manchester Evening News: “It’s an ongoing problem. Deliveroo riders will go there and leave them, and it’s not the same amount every day. They are being taken, left there and bike locked.
“Where they are is down over the Met lines, down in that little alleyway where everyone wees, by the carpark entrance to the Arndale. It’s a dirty place, it actively smells like urine when you walk down there.
“The bags get left for hours, and sometimes they get left there overnight. I think it’s why my tweet got so many likes, because so many people are aware of it. Even if you’re not using Deliveroo, other delivery drivers will turn up using Deliveroo bags. There don’t seem to be any rules. It’s the wild west.”
In emails to the company, Morris told Deliveroo that the bags are definitely in use, and had not simply been discarded. But despite this, she was told: “We give all riders access to hyper-visible delivery kit to help make sure they are always safe when on the road. When riders are finished with kit, we ask them to post it back to us or dispose of it responsibly.
“We're sorry this hasn't happened this time. We'll let our kit team know, so that they can help make sure this doesn't happen again. It's safe for you to dispose of kit in standard bins. Or, if you would like to post it back to us, we can send you a pre-paid label.”
City councillor Pat Karney has said that he’s planning to call Deliveroo into the Town Hall to explain itself.
“This is a serious issue surrounding the health and safety of people consuming food. I see so many of these dirty Deliveroo bags around the city. I’ll be calling Deliveroo into the Town Hall to completely upgrade their cleaning arrangements,” he told the M.E.N.
“I’ve been disturbed for some time seeing the dirt and filth on some of these bags, but this confirms their very lax attitude towards health and safety. Since the pandemic, there’s been an explosion in the use of Deliveroo, and we need to be concerned about people’s health in terms of the food that they’re delivering.
“They casually think that they can do what they want, but the health of residents in the city centre is being put in peril. I’ll be getting the cleansing department to check it out.”
In a statement to the Manchester Evening News, Deliveroo said: “Deliveroo has high standards when it comes to hygiene - all riders are provided with insulated delivery bags and we regularly engage with riders to ensure kit is well maintained. We are currently investigating this issue and any rider found to be breaching hygiene standards will receive a warning and, if appropriate, further action will be taken.”
It added that the advice given to Ms Morris to remove the bags and dispose of them herself was a ‘miscommunication’.
The Manchester Evening News contacted the Arndale Centre, which said that the area in question is not on its property and is the responsibility of the council.
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