Food waste: A law has been passed to simplify donations. But it doesn't target wasteful people.

APPROVAL OF LAW AGAINST FOOD WASTE –

A law against food waste, a true national disgrace despite the efforts of so many families, so many skilled housewives, to reduce domestic waste, was certainly needed. And it's a good thing for everyone that it was definitively approved by both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate , also to support donations of otherwise wasted food. However, the sore point of this much-discussed and refined law remains, partly due to the work of parliamentarians from various lobbies: there are incentives for those who donate; there are no penalties for those who waste food in the commercial and distribution networks. Thus, it is a half-baked law, very Italian, that is, under the same old flawed motto: many rights, but no duties.

The law simplifies the donation of surplus food and encourages retailers not to throw away still-edible products . In Italy, a stubborn bureaucracy makes it difficult even to avoid this outrage with a gesture of common sense rather than generosity. A declaration to the health authorities is required, to be completed five days before (!) the donation, and if a supermarket allows a volunteer association to collect a spoiled yogurt whose "best before" date has expired, it risks a fine.

THE NEW ITALIAN REGULATIONS AGAINST FOOD WASTE –

The new rules require a monthly summary of donations, which can save up to €15 worth of food. Regarding deadlines, it's important to ensure the integrity of packaging and proper product preservation . These are the simplifications, but incentives are also added. These include the ability to deduct VAT on donated goods and a reduction in waste disposal fees proportionate to the amount of food collected by associations. However, a third element is missing, which would have completed a law that truly aims to reduce the €12 billion (5,6 million tons) of food that almost always ends up in landfills: fines for those who don't cooperate.

THE FRENCH LAW AGAINST FOOD WASTE –

France, for example, has done so, and very rigorously, following the example of other Northern European countries where food waste has been significantly reduced. French law requires large-scale retailers to make agreements with charities, failing which carries fines of up to €75 and even two years in prison. This is n't about targeting retailers , and especially large-scale retailers, but rather creating an effective system that not only simplifies the rules but also encourages everyone to participate, even with the threat of a fine . Italy also has a strong point in this battle: the extraordinary vitality of its volunteer network, which alone can withstand the impact of new and old poverty. Consider this absurdity: Caritas in Rome spends around 20 euros a year to supply its soup kitchens with bread, while at the same time, in the capital's various shops, large and small, approximately a third of the unsold bread promptly ends up in the garbage . We should have passed the law on the French scheme, based on a popular petition with millions of signatures, and perhaps presented it at the Expo, instead of the generic references to food waste contained in the famous Milan Charter.

In any case, albeit with little courage, poor timing, and an Italian-style compromise, a step forward has been made. A push for change that goes hand in hand with a significant reduction in household food waste, which we do with impunity when we throw all our leftovers into the garbage after lunch.

LEARN MORE: Solidarity refrigerators in Spain to combat food waste

COSTS OF FOOD WASTE IN ITALY –

This waste remains very high, around €210 per person, 43 percent of all food waste. And there's no law to stop it; the phenomenon can only be reversed when we can convince ourselves that the damage caused by waste is caused by our hidden indifference. This is an ethical issue, more than a legal one. On this issue, Pope Francis's words were crystal clear in their pastoral force: "Whoever wastes food is as if they were stealing it from the soup kitchen." Therefore, they are sinners.

LAW AGAINST WASTE OF FOOD, MEDICINES, AND CLOTHING –

Finally, the law applies not only to foodstuffs but also to medicines and clothing . And rightly so, because these are other equally serious aspects of the waste phenomenon. Italians are devourers of medicines , partly because they mostly don't pay for them (except for the bill that comes with out-of-control public spending): every year we throw away something like 1 billion pills . Money that the state, through the National Health Service, could save, and medicines that would help many families without the money to buy them. Do a simple check in your medicine cabinet, and you'll discover how many packages have now expired and are therefore unusable . Like clothes: a look in the closet , perhaps when the seasons change, and you'll find confirmation of the statistic according to which each Italian, on average, never wears a third of their wardrobe, not even for a single day . Not wasting, state laws and morality aside, can and must become a new lifestyle. Light, not obsessive, not pauperistic, but with a broad gaze, which extends from convenience to the responsibility of recognizing the other, whatever their appearance.

TO KNOW MORE: Mistakes to avoid when shopping at the supermarket, to avoid wasting food and money.