Italy will oblige supermarkets to donate unsold products to charity. On Tuesday, March 15, reports The Independent.
The bill received support in the lower house of Parliament and will soon be considered by the full Senate.
Currently in Italy there is a fairly complicated procedure donations of food to the poor: any restaurant, supermarket or bar in advance to announce the upcoming distribution. The new law abolished this requirement, but instead as incentive measures introduced a flexible system of reducing the tax on trash depending on how many goods the seller gives to charity.
In addition, introduced an additional rule, which facilitates the donation of food with technically expired, but still edible. According to the Italian parliamentarians, so they’re trying to encourage restaurant owners and retailers are not wasting food and give it to the poor.
If the law is approved in the Senate, Italy will become the second country in Europe, which will be officially adopted these practices. The first such law was adopted by the French parliamentarians. In France, the supermarkets and restaurants wasting food instead of giving it to charity, shall be punished with heavy fines.
