The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has developed a regulatory framework for recycling food products that were not sold by grocery stores before their expiry date.
Izvestia reports that this will help to prevent 700K tons of waste a year from accumulating. The existing law considers these products a hazard. But very soon it will be possible to recycle expired products after an expert evaluation. The ministry’s concept is that the products that were not sold before they expired can be used to produce animal feed and fertilizers. For example, meat and meat products could be used for producing tankage for animals.
The bill contains a definition for “secondary resources” and specifies the mechanism for handling them as well as elaborates on the stimuli for manufacturers and retailers. It is up to the government to determine whether the bill will be passed.
According to the UN, currently one third of all food products on the planet ends up in waste. In developed countries the cost of such wasted products is close to $700 mio.