Food waste: Containers should no longer be theft – politics

Some see them as “saviors”, others as misguided thieves. In Germany, people who uninvitedly open trash cans in supermarkets to fish out discarded groceries have long been considered whimsical eco-lovers. In times of inflation and calls for austerity, however, the “container” is now finding favor with those in government for the first time. The collection of discarded food should be decriminalized, at least if no doors are broken open or hard obstacles are overcome. Criminal proceedings against containers should be dropped when circumstances allow.

Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens), who has long wanted to legalize containers, has reached an agreement with Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) to initiate a change in the guidelines for criminal and fine proceedings, also on the initiative of Hamburg. In a letter, the ministers informed the justice ministers of the federal states about this initiative. “Anyone who saves food from the bin should not be prosecuted for it,” Özdemir said on Tuesday. “Our common goal should be that food gets to where it belongs: on the plate and not in the bin.”

Damage to property during containers remains a punishable offence

Buschmann now also supports this position, albeit not unreservedly. “If people take discarded food home with them without committing damage to property or trespassing, then I don’t think there should be any further criminal prosecution,” he said. However, where trespassing or property damage occurs, “criminal law must sanction it.” It would be best if food did not end up in the garbage in the first place.

However, Germany is far from that. Around eleven million tons of food waste are disposed of here every year, often just because of minor blemishes or because the best-before date has passed. In retail, however, only seven percent of this mountain of rubbish is created. Grocery chains like to refer to this. Agriculture does not see itself as the main cause of the problem either. According to the federal government, two percent of the waste is generated here. Restaurants and canteens leave behind 17 percent of food waste. Private households contribute the lion’s share. This is where 59 percent of waste is produced, many of which would still be edible.

Initiatives such as the Foodsharing platform have long denounced the “self-destructive nature of our affluent society” and call for “responsible use of resources and a sustainable food system”. However, such environmental activists encountered resistance of a legal nature.

So far, fines have mostly been imposed

Anyone who takes someone else’s movable property from another person with the intention of unlawfully appropriating it for himself or for a third party is guilty of theft under Section 242 of the Criminal Code. This can be punished with a prison sentence of up to five years or a fine. However, not every court might severely punish the theft of food that was thrown away. Fines were usually imposed, sometimes warnings were issued.

Two young women from Bavaria who were caught packing containers in 2018 did not want to put up with it. They complained to the Federal Constitutional Court. Her complaint was not accepted there for a decision. The court declared in 2020 that the theft of “low-value or financially worthless things” is also theft and punishable by law, and that property enjoys constitutional protection. However, the court gave the legislature a wide scope for decision-making. It remains open whether he wants to take other fundamental rights into account, such as “for example, the protection of natural resources” when containers are being transported.

Greens like Minister of Agriculture Özdemir took this as encouragement. If he has his way, food waste will be halved by 2030. However, there are no binding requirements.

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