Fighting Food Waste: French law requires markets to donate unsold products to food banks

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Europe

02:37

Water isn't the only thing mankind wastes. Around the world, about one-third of all food produced is thrown away. In France, they're trying to stamp out food waste. A law passed in 2016 requires supermarkets to donate unsold products to food banks. Our correspondent Lucy Taylor reports from Paris on how it's working, two-years on.

He may look like a delivery driver. But Oliver is actually picking up these parcels. Every morning, he collects food that supermarkets would otherwise throw away. And there's lots of it. This depot handles thousands of tons every year. From here it's passed on to food banks.

PATRICK PAINON PARIS FOOD BANK "No I was really surprised, the first time I came here. The products are good, they're not old, they're just surplus. You can see the potatoes are excellent, the carrots too. They might not always look the best but they're good, and the fresh products, the meat, the yogurt, are really good quality."

These donations are not given out of goodwill alone. Since 2016, French supermarkets have been required to give unsold food to good causes or face heavy fines. France was the first country in the world to develop such a law.

LUCY TAYLOR PARIS "Today less than 2 percent of food produced in France is wasted. And the average waste per person is half that of the United States. These vegetables may be sprouting but they're nutritious. And across France warehouses like this one give away 220 million meals a year."

It's a model being looked at by countries across Europe. In Italy, businesses are offered incentives to donate unwanted food, but are not penalized if they don't. Here in France, charities say donations are increasing by eight to nine percent each year.

JACQUES BAILET NATIONAL PRESIDENT, FRENCH FOOD BANK NETWORK "I think as you know in France food is quite important, you know. And I think that the law made people more conscious of the fact that is was no longer acceptable to have people in difficult situations, and others wasting foods. So the law was clearly at the right moment."

The volunteers know that this alone won't solve the problem - because only about 10 percent of French food waste is from supermarkets. But they believe that for as long as there are hungry mouths to feed. No good food needs to go to waste. Lucy Taylor, CGTN, Paris.