Containers: saving food from the trash

What exactly is containers and who does it?

Containerizing means picking out discarded but still edible food from dumpsters to eat yourself. This is not about the private waste of individual people, but about the garbage containers of grocers, supermarkets, discounters and other companies.

Activists want to use such actions to draw attention to our handling of food: in Germany alone, around 11 million tons of food end up in the trash . Retail and catering are responsible for almost 1 or 2 tonnes - and many of these products could still be eaten perfectly.

But there are also many needy people who pick up food from the trash because they can't afford to buy it. Although there are organizations like “Tafeln”, where people with low incomes can get food donated by grocers, supermarkets, discounters or bakeries, not everyone wants or can use these facilities. Because there is not enough on offer: in 2022 alone, the number of people who visit a food bank increased by 50 percent. There have never been as many people in need as there are now.

How retailers react

Many supermarkets and discounters try to prevent containers: When food is sorted out, the packaging is torn open, the garbage is carefully mixed or the containers are secured behind fences and with locks. Of course, retailers want people to buy products from them instead of picking them up from the trash without paying for them. And if a spoiled food were to be consumed, the retailer would be liable for the health consequences because he did not secure access to the container. Because not only unsightly food is thrown away, but also spoiled products.

Why containerizing is a criminal offense

Waste containers are usually located on the private property of grocers, restaurants or supermarkets. The city or private companies take care of disposing of the contents of the containers. According to waste law, the contents of the containers belong to the so-called throwaway or the property owner until they are picked up. Anyone who fishes something out of waste containers in Germany must expect to be reported:

• You commit theft and embezzlement .
• You are trespassing by entering the area where the container is located - because the property normally belongs to the supermarket or discounter.
• Under certain circumstances, property damage also occur if, for example, a lock or door is broken to gain access to a property or to open a container.

Legalize containers: Why have the initiatives failed so far?

Many people ask themselves why it should be a criminal offense to take away discarded food: those who throw it away obviously no longer need or want it; and whoever takes them with them can put them to good use. In May 2019, Hamburg's Senator for Justice called for containers to be legalized. And at the end of 2020, the Bundestag parliamentary group Die Linke submitted a motion to decriminalize container shipping - but both initiatives failed. Some of the reasons for the no: Containers are seen as inhumane and hygienically problematic, and the question of who is liable if someone eats spoiled food from containers and becomes ill must then be clarified on a case-by-case basis.  

Containers therefore remain punishable . The Federal Constitutional Court also confirmed this in 2020 after two students lodged a complaint. At the beginning of 2023, Federal Justice Minister Buschmann and Agriculture Minister Özdemir again proposed exempting containers from penalties. The proposal proposes to make taking food with you exempt from punishment. However, trespassing and damage to property would still be punishable - a proposal that ultimately doesn't help much. The Federal Association of the German Food Trade rejects it. If the initiative does find a majority, many retailers will probably secure their containers even better or even use press containers, so that access to the discarded food is excluded.

Save food, but how?

First of all, politics and trade are in question here. The consumer advice center finds:

• The food thrown away by supermarkets is at the end of the chain: it would make much more sense if the food waste were not created in the first place. Retailers should donate food in a timely manner and strengthen food banks and similar institutions as much as possible.
• Shops should offer reduced prices more often on food that is close to the expiry of its best-before date. However, not in a grubby collection box as has always been the case, but as a contribution to combating food waste and for sustainability!
• In addition, the quality requirements of the trade are very high: carrots that have not grown completely straight or apples with spots do not even make it into most shops because the trade only wants to sell class I goods and everything else is sorted out or even discarded after the harvest the field is plowed up. A first approach would also be to bring food with small defects to the fruit and vegetable departments. It would be even better to offer more natural sorting than the “normal new”.

But each of us can also do something to save food legally! The North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center provides a lot of information and tips: all about food waste , how to store food correctly and keep it fresh for longer, and what initiatives against food waste there are in North Rhine-Westphalia that you can take part in.

Source:

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