CEBU, Philippines — A massive amount of food waste produced in Cebu City while a lot of people are suffering from involuntary hunger has prompted Councilor Alvin Dizon to push for food donation and recycling through a proposed ordinance.
Dizon said the problem on food waste has moral, social and ecological dimensions, stressing that policies and initiatives to address the issue is aligned with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations in 2015 for 2030.
“The massive amount of food waste produced vis-à-vis our serious problem on hunger presents an opportunity for the government to take concrete actions to address hunger and adopt a policy and legal framework especially at the local level to promote, facilitate and ensure the reduction of food waste through a mandatory system of redistribution of edible foods surplus to charities and recycling,” he said.
His proposal was referred to the committee on laws, ordinances, and styling for comments and recommendations. In the proposed measure, Dizon said the ordinance shall be known as “Food Waste Reduction Ordinance of Cebu City.”
Section 3 of the proposed measure covers food establishments like restaurants, hotels, fast food chains; supermarkets and grocery stores with at least 500 square meters of selling space; culinary schools which offer culinary baking and pastry courses with at least 50 students; school canteens and organized farmers and vendors groups.
Before the donation of the edible food surplus, a certification from health inspector is needed to ensure that the food is fit for human consumption. The establishments that are compliant to the requirements set under the proposed ordinance will be granted tax breaks on garbage collection by the city government.
In his proposal, Dizon said the Department of Social Welfare and Services will accredit and regulate the operation of food banks or the charitable groups that will distribute the donated food.
The barangays are tasked to coordinate with the City Environment and Natural Resources Office for the waste reduction strategy wherein inedible food surplus will be used as fertilizer or compost.
Establishments that will fail to comply with the ordinance, once approved, will be fined P1,000, P3,000, and P5,000 for the first, second, and third offenses, respectively.
Dizon said the city government will appropriate budget every year for the personnel services, training and capacity-building of sanitary inspectors and training and capacity-building for the DSWS and CENRO personnel. — FPL (FREEMAN)