France Bans Destruction Of Unsold Grocery Food; Large Supermarkets Must Donate IT To Charity Or Farms

France’s National Assembly approved on Thursday night a new law that would make it illegal for big supermarket chains to discard unsold edible food in a bid to cut down on waste. Rather than throw the items away, the supermarkets would be required to donate the food to charity or farms which could convert the items into energy, animal feed or compost.

Guillaume Garot, the Socialist legislator who authored the bill, considers it scandalous that chemicals, such as bleach, being poured into the waste bins of supermarkets along with edible food, reports the Independent. The bill aims to reduce by 50 percent the amount of food waste by 2025.

The bill requires groceries bigger than 400 square metres to sign a contract with a charity where it could donate the edible food. Charities, green groups and food groups welcomed the legislation. Campaigners are pushing to convince other countries to put in place similar laws.

Belgium had introduced a similar law in May. In the UK, the lobby group 38 Degrees has initiated a petition addressed to British Prime Minister David Cameron to push for a similar initiative. The group, as of the weekend, has collected more than 93,000 out of 100,000 signatures.

In the draft petition, 38 Degrees pointed out that it’s about time for UK to follow France’s lead since UK “is facing an ever-more worrying reliance on food banks.” The petition also proposes that Britons who could afford the service of having groceries delivered to their homes to donate 2 pounds for every order to ensure those who needed fresh fruit and veggies and other vital grocery items on the same route would also get these food that are still edible, but unsold, delivered also to their doorsteps.

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