Hamburg wants to legalise taking food from garbage bins to reduce food waste

 

The German city of Hamburg wants to legalise taking food from garbage bins in an effort to reduce food waste.

Under German law, it is a criminal offence to take food from bins outside businesses such as supermarkets or factories, irrespective if the food is still fit for human consumption.

Each year millions of tons of food, in most cases still edible yet past the ‘best before’ date,  are thrown away in Germany every year.

Tim Steffen, senator of justice in Hamburg Senate and a member of the Green party, is calling for the law to be changed across the country.

He will be bringing bringing his proposal to a conference of regional justice ministers in the hope of changing the law at the federal level.

In France, which wastes only 1.8% of its food production, supermarkets are prohibited from throwing away edible food and must instead donate it to charities or food banks. A similar law applies in the Czech Republic.

 

Via Euronews