German ministers push to decriminalise 'dumpster-diving'
Germany's Justice and Agriculture ministers say people who rescue waste food from bins shouldn't be punished for it - at least in most cases.
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) and Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) are calling for a change in the punishments and fines for "dumpster diving".
The goal is to prevent people who fish edible 'waste' food out of containers from facing hefty fines or a criminal record.
According to the ministers' joint initiative, penalties should only be doled out if people make a concerted effort to trespass on private property or carry out acts of criminal damage.
That means that people who forcibly break open a gate or door in order to enter a supermarket's property can still expect criminal charges, but jumping over a wall to reach their bins would be acceptable.
The practice of dumpster diving is particularly popular among students and climate activists, who say they are preventing food going to waste. But it can be risky for people who opt to get their groceries this way.
Containering is 'theft'
Under current German law, taking unsold food from supermarket bins is generally treated as theft, with punishments ranging from €1,200 fines to several hours of community service.
Penalties can be heightened if criminal damage is carried out - for example, if people pry open the container by force - and for trespassing on private property.
Özdemir, whose remit includes drastically cutting the nation's food waste, has previously said rescuing food from rubbish containers should be exempt from prosecution.
READ ALSO: How customers in Germany can demand multi-use packaging from 2023
According to the Green politician, the proposed changes in the procedural guidelines could be one of many building blocks in the fight against food waste. "Here, the federal states can also make a concrete contribution," he said.
FDP politician Buschmann has adopted the cause more recently.
"If people take discarded food home without committing damage to property or trespassing, then in my opinion this does not need to be prosecuted further," the Justice Minister explained.
In a joint letter to the justice ministers and senators of the federal states, Buschmann and Özdemir are urging federal leaders to support a corresponding proposal by the state of Hamburg from 2021.
In 2019, a similar initiative in Hamburg failed at the Justice Ministers' Conference.
Food waste in Germany
According to the Federal Statistical Office, around eleven million tonnes of food waste were generated in 2020, with every consumer throwing away around 78 kilograms of food per year.
Though most of this (59 percent) is generated in the home, retail outlets account for seven percent of the total waste, with around 800,000 tonnes of food chucked away each year.
To combat this issue and reduce the climate impact of the food industry, the Agriculture Ministry presented a National Food Waste Reduction Strategy back in 2019.
The Food Waste Reduction Strategy aims to half the amount of food thrown away per capita by 2030. To help meet these targets, interventions are planned at every stage of the food supply chain, from the field to retail shelves.
READ ALSO: Food waste or gourmet grub? How one German hotel is changing the culture of leftovers
Vocabulary
Dumpster diving / skipping - Containern
Penalty - (die) Bestrafung
Food waste - (die) Lebensmittelverschwendung
Waste / refuse - (die) Abfälle
We're aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating some of the vocabulary from our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.
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Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) and Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) are calling for a change in the punishments and fines for "dumpster diving".
The goal is to prevent people who fish edible 'waste' food out of containers from facing hefty fines or a criminal record.
According to the ministers' joint initiative, penalties should only be doled out if people make a concerted effort to trespass on private property or carry out acts of criminal damage.
That means that people who forcibly break open a gate or door in order to enter a supermarket's property can still expect criminal charges, but jumping over a wall to reach their bins would be acceptable.
The practice of dumpster diving is particularly popular among students and climate activists, who say they are preventing food going to waste. But it can be risky for people who opt to get their groceries this way.
Containering is 'theft'
Under current German law, taking unsold food from supermarket bins is generally treated as theft, with punishments ranging from €1,200 fines to several hours of community service.
Penalties can be heightened if criminal damage is carried out - for example, if people pry open the container by force - and for trespassing on private property.
Özdemir, whose remit includes drastically cutting the nation's food waste, has previously said rescuing food from rubbish containers should be exempt from prosecution.
READ ALSO: How customers in Germany can demand multi-use packaging from 2023
According to the Green politician, the proposed changes in the procedural guidelines could be one of many building blocks in the fight against food waste. "Here, the federal states can also make a concrete contribution," he said.
FDP politician Buschmann has adopted the cause more recently.
"If people take discarded food home without committing damage to property or trespassing, then in my opinion this does not need to be prosecuted further," the Justice Minister explained.
In a joint letter to the justice ministers and senators of the federal states, Buschmann and Özdemir are urging federal leaders to support a corresponding proposal by the state of Hamburg from 2021.
In 2019, a similar initiative in Hamburg failed at the Justice Ministers' Conference.
Food waste in Germany
According to the Federal Statistical Office, around eleven million tonnes of food waste were generated in 2020, with every consumer throwing away around 78 kilograms of food per year.
Though most of this (59 percent) is generated in the home, retail outlets account for seven percent of the total waste, with around 800,000 tonnes of food chucked away each year.
To combat this issue and reduce the climate impact of the food industry, the Agriculture Ministry presented a National Food Waste Reduction Strategy back in 2019.
The Food Waste Reduction Strategy aims to half the amount of food thrown away per capita by 2030. To help meet these targets, interventions are planned at every stage of the food supply chain, from the field to retail shelves.
READ ALSO: Food waste or gourmet grub? How one German hotel is changing the culture of leftovers
Vocabulary
Dumpster diving / skipping - Containern
Penalty - (die) Bestrafung
Food waste - (die) Lebensmittelverschwendung
Waste / refuse - (die) Abfälle
We're aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating some of the vocabulary from our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.
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