In Austria, 160 tons of perfectly good food end up in the trash every day. In total, around 59,000 tons of food were thrown away in 2025. France has been taking action against this waste since 2016. There, supermarkets are legally obligated to donate or recycle surplus food.
Supermarkets in Austria are not obligated to rescue food.
Day-old bread, bruised fruit, vegetables with minor cosmetic flaws, or products that are close before the expiration of the minimum shelf life All of this is often thrown away, even though it would still be perfectly edible.
Since the end of 2023 major food retailers must report how much food they throw away and how much they donation, for example to social institutions. But whether they actually donate food that is no longer suitable for sale or throw it away in the end remains their decision. The retailers must provide figures. There are currently no concrete measures for food rescue.
Current figures show that a mere reporting obligation, voluntary action, and self-responsibility are not enough. Because although there are numerous people affected by poverty in Austria, more food still ends up in the trash than is donated.
More thrown away than donated
This reporting obligation also only applies to large food corporations. Smaller businesses remain exempt from the reporting obligation. Supermarkets with more than 400 square meters Sales area, dealer with at least five Sales points and wholesalers liable for bookkeeping. Reported are once per quarter, in kilograms.
The data collected can publicly in the Federal Electronic Data Management be reviewed. In total, 2025 in Austria 59,035,499 kilograms Food discarded. According to data as of April 29, 2026, this amounts to a total of 23,609,766 kilograms opposite, which were given away for free.
In the first quarter 13,138,024 kilograms Food reported as waste, in the second quarter 14,806,908 kilograms, in the third quarter 15,628,990 kilograms and in the fourth quarter 15,461,577 kilograms. Not only the total amounts are displayed, but also individual companies and their respective figures on how many kilograms of food they donated and how many they reported as waste.
Dumpster Diving: When Retrieving Food from Trash Becomes Theft
Anyone in Austria who already retrieves discarded food from supermarket dumpsters is operating in a legal gray area. The fact that the goods have already been sorted does not mean they are freely available. If the dumpster is on private property, is locked, or still belongs to the business, dumpster diving legal consequences have, for example, theft, disturbance of possession, or trespassing. It seems particularly absurd when it comes to food that is no longer sells to be, but still enjoyable would be.
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The consequences of this are shown by the case of Christian A. in Vienna. He had rescued food from the waste room of a Hofer branch in May 2024. According to media reports, the waste room unbroken nor was anything damaged. Nevertheless, in August 2024, the Vienna-Leopoldstadt District Court convicted him of attempted theft to four weeks suspended sentence. So the accusation was not that he broke into a store, but that he stole food that had already been sorted out.
When poverty meets overflowing trash bins
Sea Statistics Austria were in Austria 2025 around 1.7 million People at risk of poverty or social exclusion. This corresponds to 18.8 percent of the population, or almost one in fifth person in the country.
And herein lies the disturbing aspect of the current system: good food still ends up in the trash, but whoever gets it from there is not seen as someone who is saving food, but rather as someone who is [doing something] steals. A legal solution could start precisely here: It would regulate that edible food doesn't end up in the bin in the first place, but is passed on in good time. Countries like France show that this is possible.
Why does trade prefer to throw away food instead of donating it?
The simple answer is because throwing things away is often more convenient and keeps prices stable. Supermarkets want full shelves, nice merchandise, and to give the impression, almost until closing time, that there's still plenty here. Everything. That's easy to sell? An almost empty bread shelf, on the other hand, looks like a poorly managed market. That's exactly why retailers often more offers, when it's actually bought in the end. What's left then suddenly becomes a problem. A lot of it would still be edible, but it's no longer salable.
And at this point, it gets really absurd: Donating involves effort. The goods have to be sorted, stored, cooled, documented, and picked up on time. This requires personnel, space, and reliable partners. Another option would be to… food that can no longer be sold soon, significantly cheaper to offer. But that would mean taking the price down earlier and to reduce the visible. This is exactly what retailers want to avoid.
Because if bread, fruit, or vegetables are close to closing time regularly cheaper customers will eventually wait for these Discounts. The normal price loses effectiveness. This way, the price is protected while the food loses value. What remains is not automatically passed on to people who could use it, but far too often ends up in the trash. This leaves disposal as the most convenient and safest option for retailers: trash can open, goods in, problem gone.
France becomes the first country in the world to enact laws against food waste
France decided long ago that food waste cannot be combated with appeals alone. Already 2013 The country launched a national plan against food waste. 2016 Then came the decisive legal step: France became the first country in the world to require large supermarkets to not destroy edible unsold food, but instead to make it available for donation to charities.
At its core, it's about: Large supermarkets are not allowed to simply [discard] edible food destroy, throw away or intentionally unusable that. Anything that can still be eaten should not end up in the trash, but must be donated. Companies must make an agreement with aid organizations for this.
France thereby determines what should happen to food before it becomes waste. Supermarkets should not wait until the goods are already in the bin, but should avoid waste as much as possible beforehand. Through better planning, earlier price reductions, or timely redistribution. The law thus distinguishes between goods that can no longer be sold and goods that really cannot be eaten.
Of course, food waste has not completely disappeared as a result. In France too, far too much food still ends up in the trash. But the law has changed the direction: what can no longer be sold is not automatically to be treated as waste. There is a huge difference between „no longer sellable“ and „no longer edible.“ Austria, for its part, has so far primarily documented how much food is thrown away. France obliges retailers to act proactively and ensures that edible food does not end up in the trash in the first place.
