You may have to wait late in the evening for restaurants to open in Spain, but at least now you’ll have a chance to take home your leftovers under new anti-food-waste rules going into effect this month.
The goal is to reduce food waste by 50% overall, including a 20% waste cut in production and supply change. Some of the changes are about educating people and changing habits, while others impose new requirements.
Among the changes:
- Restaurants, except all-you-can-eat buffets, are now required to offer recyclable containers for leftovers, or at least give them to you if you ask.
- Food stores, restaurants and farms must prioritize donating food approaching expiration rather than discarding it; if it’s not suitable for donation, it must be used for animal feed, compost or energy generation
- Supermarkets are being incentivized to offer products that are close to expiration date or fruit and vegetables that are ‘ugly’ at lower prices.
- Restaurants are being encouraged to make their menus more flexible, so that people can choose smaller portions or avoid sides that they won’t be able to eat
Image by Loyloy Thal from Pixabay
