Deputy Minister of Agriculture Michał Kołodziejczak announced that he would not discuss with traders who had previously lobbied for favorable food waste regulations. – Store he orders too much and if he doesn't sell it, he gives it back, thus shifting the problem to someone else – he said in his style in “Conversations about the end of the world” TVN24.
“I have no empathy.” Deputy Minister Kołodziejczak is tough on the new regulations
– I don't have the slightest empathy for the shops because they are not harmed, so they shouldn't make stupid things and make up things. Shops make a lot of money selling food and they should trade in such a way that the food does not go to waste, because food is valuable, said Kołodziejczak. – If someone doesn't like our rules, they should look for a place somewhere else – he added.
The Ministry of Agriculture plans to increase the fee for food waste. The new regulations increase it from PLN 0.1/kg to PLN 0.5/kg. So it will increase fivefold. Moreover, the ministry would like to introduce higher penalties for failure to pay the fee, paying it in full or not paying it on time. Currently, it ranges from PLN 500 to PLN 10,000. zloty. After the change, it will be from PLN 5,000. up to 15 thousand zloty. A fine of PLN 5,000. PLN will also have to be paid by stores that do not implement educational and information campaigns regarding food waste. This is required by a 2019 law.
We waste millions of tons of food in Poland
All this is intended to force stores to waste less. We read on the ministry's website that approximately 5 million tons of food are wasted in Poland every year. It was calculated that this is 126 kg of food wasted per Pole.
Consumers waste the most, 60 percent, or nearly 3 million tons. On average, as much as 92 kg of food ends up in the trash every year Polish houses. “It's as if every day, all year round, every second, Poles threw away 184 loaves of bread in their homes alone. The average Poland a family throws food worth about PLN 3,000 into the trash. zloty. Most often, the basket includes bread, cold meats, fresh fruit and vegetables,” we read on the website.