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Supermarkets: 16,200 tons of food ended up in the bin

(Bild: StockCube)

For the last quarter of 2023, 250 supermarkets or around 4,000 sales outlets complied with the reporting obligation of the Waste Management Act for the first time: According to this, more than 16,200 tons of food were thrown away and almost 4900 tons were donated, according to a statement from the Ministry of Climate Protection on Friday. Department head Leonore Gewessler (Greens) sees "still great potential to donate more and throw away less".

The figures show that waste and donations from companies with more than 50 points of sale vary greatly. They range from 500 to 12,000 kilograms of waste and 400 to 2,500 kilograms of donations per outlet. "I am confident and expect even greater efforts from retailers and appeal to them to donate more food and throw away less," emphasized the Minister.

Of those companies that voluntarily allocated product groups to waste, the lion's share (45 percent) was fruit and vegetables, followed by baked goods (19 percent) and fresh produce (12 percent). Fruit and vegetables (30 percent), milk and dairy products and baked goods (23 percent each) were the main categories donated.

Retail spokesperson identifies leak by ministry
"First, our retailers are legally obliged to send quarterly reports to the BMK. Then the Ministry of Climate Protection leaks the report to selected media in advance. The Ministry has been in possession of a legal opinion for weeks, according to which the publication of the quantities by company - i.e. not aggregated - violates data protection. The approach of the Ministry of Climate Protection, which has itself been standing on the brakes for years when it comes to the legal facilitation of food distribution, is completely unacceptable," criticized trade spokesman Rainer Will.

The main problem with food waste lies elsewhere anyway: according to the latest figures, 58 percent of waste comes from private households and 19 percent from restaurants and canteen kitchens. In comparison, the entire food retail trade and food wholesalers are only responsible for just under nine percent, according to the spokesperson.

Greenpeace misses reduction targets
"Although the reporting obligation is a good first step, it must also be extended to large companies in the food production and catering sectors. The government must also set binding reduction targets for the individual sectors," emphasized Sebastian Theissing-Matei from Greenpeace in Austria. "It is unacceptable for retail companies to simply throw away food while more and more people cannot afford to eat it. "Voluntary action doesn't work, the government must intervene. Italy, France and the Czech Republic show that this is possible," said Sebastian Bohrn Mena, spokesman for the oekoreich initiative.