The throw-away society

Photo by Camara Negra on Unsplash

The Story

Germany is considering legalising dumpster diving, the practice of sifting through bins to find tasty tidbits that have been thrown out by a society with money than sense.

Dumpsters were once primarily the preserve of the homeless, but they now face competition from eco warriors who have set themselves the task of saving the world one mouldy Bröthchen at a time.

Currently, fishing old food out of bins is considered theft. But a proposal by the Ministry for Agriculture could see that change.

“Anyone who rescues edible food from rubbish bins shouldn't be prosecuted for doing so,” agriculture minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) said earlier this month.

Pointing out that around eleven million tonnes of food is tossed away every year, Özdemir said that “in Germany, far too much food ends up in the trash.”

According to his plan, dumpster diving will only remain illegal in cases where people break into the premises of a supermarket to do so. Where the bins are …