Since 2016, a law has banned French supermarkets from throwing away unsold groceries. That seems to be working: Tafeln, for example, have received significantly more donations since then.
A woman takes her keys and wants to go shopping. But a call comes from the fridge. “Don’t you want to make a shopping list?” asks an egg. “Otherwise you buy too much and end up throwing it away. I’ll help you.” The egg calls into the fridge: “Gruyère?” – “Present!” – “Salad?” – “Present!” – “Mayonnaise?” – Be silent. Mayo is on the shopping list.
The message of the French Environment and Energy Agency ADEME in the promotional video: “Let’s reduce food waste!”
An app for inexpensive shopping
In 2016, France became the first country in the world to pass a law against this waste. “In France, ten million tons of food are thrown away every year. That’s the equivalent of 18 billion meals thrown away,” says an Internet campaign. And around 16 billion euros loss.
The law has since banned throwing away unsold food. First, supermarkets over 400 square meters in size had to donate edible food to non-profit organizations and social institutions. You can also use an app to buy an inexpensive grocery basket, as is the case with the French start-up Phénix. According to its own statements, it “saves 120,000 meals a day from wasting”.
Anyone who still destroys and disposes of food faces high penalties of up to 0.1 percent of annual sales. That can be 50,000 euros. But there are also incentives: companies can deduct their donations from taxes – they receive relief from 60 percent of the value of the goods.
rules tightened again
In the meantime, the law has triggered many initiatives. For example, the wholesale market in Marseille has set up a kitchen in which unsold food is processed. And some “Café Solidaire” cooks soups from the donated vegetables. They can be sold and the proceeds donated, or they are distributed directly to those in need.
The law was initially criticized as being a bit toothless, but the rules have since been tightened. In 2022 the inscription “Can also be used after the end of the shelf life” was introduced.
School children weigh the waste
The law has also been extended to wholesalers, larger manufacturers, the entire production chain – which is also supposed to produce animal feed or compost from the leftovers – as well as smaller supermarkets and canteens. A new trend here: Schoolchildren get smaller portions at first, but can catch up. This is how the small town of Chaumont, southeast of Paris, does it.
“There are people who don’t eat up, then throw everything away, and that’s a waste,” says one student. The Scolarest company cooks 1,400 meals for the children in Chaumont. “We offer the children bread, but we don’t systematically demand it,” explains boss Isabelle Monnet on the France 3 television channel. “Because in that case it just ends up in the garbage.”
Today there is couscous salad, meat with sauce, carrots and parsnips. The waste is weighed at the end. A “challenge” – also for the bread. “Most of what we threw away was five baguettes in a week, that’s a lot,” says one student. “And the least was one, that’s much better.”
Most waste comes from private households
France aims to halve food waste between 2015 and 2025. Where exactly are you on the way? The official authorities leave a question mark there. After all: According to the food banks, over 95 percent of the large supermarkets are participating. They report receiving 10,000 tons more food between 2015 and 2017 alone.
For associations like the Tafel, the “Restos du Coeur”, the donated food has increased by more than 20 percent compared to the time before the law. And the products are of higher quality. Millions of additional meals can be spent as a result.
But this law also has shortcomings: It does not cover the waste generated in households, which accounts for around a third of the food thrown away – 30 kilos per capita and year. Nevertheless, one can say: A dynamic towards less waste is visible.