Spain wants to penalise food waste
Spain is planning a law against food waste. Supermarkets and restaurants will be required to donate or make use of surplus food.
The draft law provides for heavy fines for supermarkets that throw away leftover food, as well as an obligation for bars and restaurants to offer bags or containers so that customers can take their leftovers home.
The aim of the draft law, which was adopted on 7 June 2022 by Spain’s Socialist-led government, is to reduce the amount of 1’300 tonnes of food wasted across the country every year, said Luis Planas, Spain’s Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. This figure corresponds to 31 kg per person.
The law will now be submitted to parliament for approval, and the government hopes it will come into force by early 2023. Only France and Italy are said to have similar regulations.
Planas described the law as «a groundbreaking legal instrument« that would enable the government to tackle inefficiencies in the food chain and limit the resulting economic, ethical and environmental costs. «In a world where hunger and malnutrition unfortunately still exist, these are things that weigh on everyone’s conscience«, he said.
The draft law also includes measures that would oblige supermarkets and restaurants to work with neighbourhood organisations and food banks to limit waste. Medium and large companies involved in the food chain will be required to submit waste prevention plans, with priority given to donating food before its best-before date expires.
In the case of overripe fruit, the draft law proposes processing it into products such as jam or juice. Alternatively, it can be used as animal feed or for the production of fertilisers and biofuel.
Restaurants must also provide containers in which customers can take uneaten food home with them – a practice not common in Spain.
Although the government acknowledges that a large proportion of food waste occurs at home, the legislation will rely more on awareness campaigns than on fines to change household behaviour.
Companies that violate the law can be fined up to 60’000 euros, and up to 500’000 euros for repeat offenders.
According to a recent UN report, nearly 1 billion tonnes of food are wasted worldwide every year, while billions of people go hungry or cannot afford a healthy diet. Food waste is responsible for around 10% of the emissions driving the climate crisis.
