A leader of the House of Representatives is pushing for the passage of a measure that seeks to reduce food waste by requiring businesses to donate or recycle excess food.
Currently, Deputy Speaker Sharon Garin of AAMBIS-Owa said there is no law in the Philippines that combats the increasing amount of food waste in the Philippines.
Last month Garin filed House Bill (HB) 6235, which enumerated the various food waste-reduction strategies that should be adopted by food-related businesses, local government units (LGUs) and households.
“Much is needed to be done to reduce food wastage. Behavioral change is necessary to combat this problem,” HB 6235 read.
“It is high time for the government to its part not only for the Philippines, but also because this has become an alarming global problem,” it added.
Citing data from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology, each Filipino wasted an average of 3.29 kilograms of rice per year.
Under HB 6235, research will be conducted into how to efficiently use food waste generated by businesses and households.
It also calls for creation of the Food Waste Reduction Committee composed of the chiefs of the National Nutrition Council, and the departments of Environment and Natural Resources, Social Welfare and Development, Education, Trade and Industry, Health, Science and Technology, and Interior and Local Government.
The committee will require supermarkets and grocery stores to sell surplus or leftover food still fit for human consumption at discounted prices to consumers.
Under the measure, the committee will determine which businesses, such as supermarkets, grocery stores, restaurants, school and office cafeterias and other similar food establishments, will be covered by the law based on the size, number of clientele and amount of food being sold, distributed or manufactured for public consumption.
Garin said food-related businesses will be required to donate all its surplus or leftover food to accredited charitable institutions and foundations; shoulder the costs of transporting donated food from business location to the accredited charitable institutions; and ensure that donated food is unadulterated and in good condition.
The bill requires food-related businesses to enter into an agreement with waste management and recycling firms to recycle food waste into fertilizer or compost. These firms would also be compelled to maintain food-waste levels at a target that will be set by the committee.
The committee will also provide guidelines, such as health and safety standards, in the collection, storage and distribution of food donations.
To encourage food donation, the bill provided that businesses will not be subjected to any civil or criminal liability arising from nature, age, packaging or condition of the donated food.
Image credits: Bloomberg