B1 – Intermediate
The city of Seattle is introducing a system to fine people who waste food. They will get a $1 fine if more than 10 per cent of their garbage is food. The Seattle Public Utilities department said the new garbage disposal system should make people more aware that recycling is important.
http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1409/140926-food-waste.html
Discussion Questions:
- Talk about the problem of food wastage and give some solutions to it.
- Do you think that fining people will lessen the amount of food that is being wasted? Explain your opinion.
- Is recycling done in your neighborhood or city? Talk about it.
- What laws does your country have when it comes to food wastage?
- What are other things the government can do to discourage food wastage?
*Update: This law has been in effect since January 2015
27 replies on “Fined for Wasting Food”
1.- Do you think that fining people will lessen the the amount of food that is being wasted?
If because people don’t want to be fined. Nobody wants to pay money
2. Is recycling done in your neighborhood or city?
Yes, there are containers for paper, glass and other products. People recycle
3. What laws does your country have when it comes to food wastage?
I don’t know any laws. I know that in some countries for every thing you recycle you get a little money. It’s a good way
4. What are other things the government can do to discourage wastage?
For example, if an NGO collects food from homes or companies,
Give some money if you take the food to a place
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1. Do you think that fining people will lessen the the amount of food that is being wasted?
People do not usually react to punishment, they usually react to compensation, that is why I think that people who recycle should receive some type of benefit to encourage other people to recycle too.
2. Is recycling done in your neighborhood or city?
I think yes, but i don’t know really if other people in my city are recycling like me.
3. What laws does your country have when it comes to food wastage?
Maybe yes i don’t know about that, i need to investigate it.
4. What are other things the government can do to discourage wastage?
Increase recycling areas, provide incentives in a compensatory, non-punitive way
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1. Do you think that fining people will lessen the amount of food that is being wasted?
Yes, I do. People do not like the feeling of being finned and pay for something that they did it wrong. What I like of this solution is the amount of the money, it is not a big payment and it works like a warning, so people can learn without a real punishment.
2. Is recycling done in your neighborhood or city?
Yes, it is. We have four different containers for paper, glass, organic items and inorganic items. We have two additional containers, one only for plastic caps and another one for clothes, but these are for charity organizations.
3. What laws does your country have when it comes to food wastage?
I am not sure a hundred percent, but I think there is not any law about it. But we have a lot of campaigns encouraging people to recycle and teaching people how to do it. School’ students learn the basics of recycle or more important of reuse.
4. What are other things the government can do to discourage wastage?
I think they can show to the people how recycle work in the factories, because a lot of people think that organic and inorganic garbage are mixed after we throw it in the containers.
They also can teach people to cook better and waste less food with campaigns. For instance, use the chicken bones to make soup instead of throw them to the garbage directly.
Another campaign could be about buying only the food you need, because the problem can start in the supermarket.
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1. Do you think that fining people will lessen the the amount of food that is being wasted?
Yes, because people don´t like pay nothing and this is the only way to improve people recycling.
2. Is recycling done in your neighborhood or city?
Yes, but people don´t pay attention
3. What laws does your country have when it comes to food wastage?
In my country I don´t know if we have any law for it, but in tv, radio and other media you can see ads encouraging people to do it.
4. What are other things the government can do to discourage wastage?
The government could pay people that do thinks good, it will be a incentive for people to recycle
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1. Do you think that fining people Will lessen the amount of food that is being wasted?
I think it’s a good idea because losing money is something that hurts people. Most people don’t regognise how luche they are to be able to eaat every day, fotgetting that many people die because they have nothing toe at. In addition, this system Will also serve to create new Jobs because there Will be garbage collectors that Will decide if a house or business gets a fine by looking in their garbage bins.
2. Is recycling done in your neighborhood or city?
Yes, I think it is done. In my town there are several bins to segregate garbage and my feeling is that most people in town recycle.
3. What laws does your country have when it comes to food wastage?
As far as I know, there isn’t any law against food wastage in my country but I think it could be a Good idea because because I get the feeling that a loto f food is wasted daily especially in restaurants.
4. What are other things the government can do to discourage wastage?
I think that the main solution would be in education. I think that is very important to educate people about recycling at school, to raise moral sense through tv advertisements and even penalize those who don’t do so with fines.
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1. Do you think that fining people will lessen the amount of food that is being wasted?
Yes I think that fining people will lessen the amount of food thay is being wasted because fining is a way to make people be aware of things.
2. Is recycling done in your neighborhood or city?
Yes recycling is done in my neighborhood and city, there are recycling bins to put waste in.
3. What laws does your country have when it comes to food wastage?
In my country there is no laws against food wastage, there was going to be one but the end of government time has done that there isn’t one.
4. What are other things the government can do to discourage wastage?
One thing that government can do to discourage wastage is educating people. I think that is very important to educate people about recycling at school
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1. Do you think that fining people will lessen the the amount of food that is being wasted?
I think that any way to improve the recicling system in the cities is good.
the are many things to make aware the peaple. The first to make aware childrens at the school.
2. Is recycling done in your neighborhood or city?
Yes, we has a public recycling system and we has to Containers for glass, paper and plastic.
3. What laws does your country have when it comes to food wastage?
The are not any measures for food wastage for the peaple.
But for the restaurants and big yes, the need to avoid a food wastage
4. What are other things the government can do to discourage wastage?
To pay a fine can be a good measure but i think is better to encourage the peaple. For example, if you recycle all your garbage, you don´t pay the tax.
Awareness campaing in media (TV, radio,…)
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1. Yes, is a good idea for reduce this costum. The people thinking two time after trash the food in the garbage.
2. In my town we have a lot of garbage for recycle but not all people doing. The Goverment studing about card for open the garbage and controling the using them. It’s similar Seatle… if you just open the residue garbage it’s possible that you may need a pay to extra tax.
3. Now, I think there are no established laws, but if, for example, the consumption of water in your house is greater than what they have stipulated that a family of 4 people should consume, I think they add an extra to the bill of this month.
4. Reuse the food that is not consumed in restaurants and supermarkets and that can still be useful and sell it at lower prices (someone do it and it’s a good idea) or even donate it. Also, I think we still need to learn a lot about recycling as I think it isn’t done properly in the specific composting plants.
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1- Is a good idea to talk, but it’have some difficults to do in practice. If you consume a lot of fresh products in your garbage will be a lot of peels, and food that can be out of date.
2- yes in my country and city are a lot of tanks to deposite the different types of residuos.
3- We don’t have laws about this, and i think is difficult to apply something like that.
4- We need to take conscient about our individual conduct about wastage. The goverment have to put tools to recliclate, and then punish if you don’t do correctly.
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I think the initiative to fine people for wasting food is a good idea because most people do not recognise how lucky they are to be able to eat every day, forgetting that many people die because they have nothing to eat.
Today we take for granted that all the goods we have we possess because we are worthy of them, and we do not consider the possibility of losing them. I have seen many people waste food instead of keeping it in a tupper to eat it later. I suffer from that. In my country there are no rules to prevent this kind of thing. I hope that starting with warnings and ending with fines will reduce the amount of good food that goes to waste.
However, I know more people who recycle than those who do not. I believe that recycling is basic, and that little by little people will take it as a habit because it is an easy job and it helps the planet.
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1.Do you think that fining people will lessen the the amount of food that is being wasted?
In my opinion more fines will not reduce people amount of food that they waste because i believe that the people who wasted food is the people who has more incomes.
2. Is recycling done in your neighborhood or city?
Yes, in my city recycling is done.
3. What laws does your country have when it comes to food wastage?
I really don´t know any. i guees that there is zero laws about food wastage.
4. What are other things the government can do to discourage wastage?
Maybe the government can make some advertising warning about the impact of wasting food
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1. Do you think that fining people will lessen the the amount of food that is being wasted?
Yes, i think that yes wiil lessen amount of food wasted as the people only learn when affects your money. If it were up to me I would put the most expensive fines
Not can be that ones people waste of de food and other people they have not for eat
2. Is recycling done in your neighborhood or city?
Yes, since do some years the Citys know the important that is recycling, even so we recycling much less than is needed.
3. What laws does your country have when it comes to food wastage?
Right now in Spain we have not none law but Government are preparing one new law for controll the waste not only for the physical persons also for the Companys
4. What are other things the government can do to discourage wastage?
There are much food that waste in the Supermarkets the large food chains should be forced to take this food to social services to help people who need it
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1. Do you think that fining people will lessen the amount of food that is being wasted?
Defintely, yes. It is a pity but people only obey with fines.
2. Is recycling done in your neighborhood or city?
Yes, in Madrid the city where I live there are several buckets to recycle, recently they have included the brown one for food and then make the compost for gardens but the truth is that I have not used it yet
3. What laws does your country have when it comes to food wastage?
At the moment it is only recommended but there are no fines, however in my country there is a lot of awareness of recycling although not everyone knows what each color is for
4. What are other things the government can do to discourage wastage?
Waste is everywhere, considering the food that is thrown away in the supermarkets.
Ideally, only seasonal food should be eaten and the shelves in the supermarkets should be almost empty at the end of each week
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Yes, in Madrid the city where I live there are several buckets to recycle, recently they have included the brown one for food and then make the compost for gardens but the truth is that I have not used it yet
> Yes, it is done in Madrid, the city where I live. There are several bins to segregate garbage. They have recently included the brown one for leftover food. Wastes collected from these bins are then made into compost for gardens. The truth is, I have not used it yet.
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I think that the system to fine people, shouldn´t make lessen the garbage food.
Yes, in my neighborhood reciclyng, organic garbage separate of the paper and the glass; other container is by the oil.
In my country, there isn´t laws when it comes to food wastage.
I think taht the government should pay for recyciyng glass, paper, cans…through vending machines, it would be motivating. In European Countries, it already exists.