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SPD Presses to Ease Food Donations and Decriminalize 'Containern' as Action Week Begins

Germany discards nearly 11 million tonnes of food each year, with households responsible for about 60 percent.

Overview

  • SPD parliamentary vice Esra Limbacher calls for making retailer donations financially easier and ending criminal penalties for rescuing edible food from store bins.
  • Limbacher also proposes scrapping best-before dates for long-life items such as canned goods, tea, pasta and rice.
  • The agriculture ministry reports the scale of waste but says it is not pursuing a new initiative to legalize containern after a prior federal effort failed over Länder unanimity.
  • The nationwide 'Zu gut für die Tonne' week launches with events in about 30 cities and a Berlin action day scheduled for September 30, including Foodsharing activities.
  • Consumer groups highlight overproduction and early shelf removal before best-before dates, while Berlin pilots redistribution via 'Kiez-Box' sites and a growing roundtable that now includes Dehoga and Die Tafel.