Containers: 80% of Germans demand legalization against food waste!

Containers: 80% of Germans demand legalization against food waste!

An impressive eleven million tons of food end up in the trash every year in Germany. A circumstance that is not only ecologically questionable, but also has social consequences. This particularly affects the 1.5 million citizens in Germany who do not have enough money for food and are often dependent on food banks. The SPD is now calling for a new attempt to legalize so-called “containers” – taking food that has been thrown away but is still edible. This could help reduce food waste and raise awareness of the issue. According to a report on meetingpoint-jl.de, there is high support for legalization among voters from the Greens (90%), the Left (90%) and even the CDU/CSU (79%).

The SPD parliamentary group deputy Esra Limbacher was optimistic on September 29th and emphasized that it should not be cheaper for supermarkets to throw away more food than to donate it. She criticizes the current criminalization of container shipping as outdated. “It is no longer appropriate to distinguish between theft and the need to save edible food,” says Limbacher. The YouGov survey shows that 79 percent of Germans support decriminalization, while only 9 percent see container shipping as illegal.

The attitude of the federal government and the food trade

As reported on tagesschau.de, there has been no movement in the current federal government to decriminalize container shipping. The Federal Association of the German Food Trade (BVLH) is vehemently against legalization, with liability issues playing a central role. “Unauthorized entry into company premises must remain prohibited,” says BVLH managing director Philipp Hennerkes.

Despite these negative attitudes, one should not forget that the food trade is only responsible for around 7 percent of food waste - the majority, namely 58 percent, comes from private households. Esra Limbacher sees great potential for improvement in this and would like to provide incentives to change the situation. In Germany, food is often thrown away because the best-before date has expired or for reasons of visibility. In many cases, these products are still completely edible.

Growing discussion about containers and food waste

Container dumping is currently legally viewed as theft, which can result in criminal penalties of up to five years in prison. But reality shows that the public prosecutor's office usually only takes action in the case of petty theft if the supermarkets actually file a complaint. The discussion about legalization has been going on since 2019. The first advances came from the Left Party, while the Federal Constitutional Court rejected a lawsuit from students who had taken food from an Edeka garbage container.

It remains to be seen whether the SPD can provide new impetus with its legalization proposal to finally effectively counteract food waste in Germany. The necessary discussions are underway and perhaps Germany can soon learn from a system that works exemplary in France: There are both incentives and fines for supermarkets to reduce food regulations.

Growing support and awareness among the population could be crucial in paving the way to legalization of containerization. The campaign week “Too good for the bin!” will also give this topic additional momentum.