Anti-waste law: "We cannot let it be assumed that the poor and precarious would only have leftovers to live on", warns the Secours populaire

"We can only be pleased that what is still consumable does not go to the recycling centers", underlined Saturday January 1 on franceinfo Thierry Robert, the national secretary of the Secours populaire, while the producers and distributors of non-food products have , since January 1, the ban on destroying their unsold products in order to fight against food waste. But Thierry Robert believes that we "cannot let it be assumed either that the poor and precarious would only have leftovers to live on". The Secours populaire "preserves the dignity of people", recalls its national secretary. If he welcomes the measure, he recalls that the recovery has "a financial impact" for the association. "We only take it if we are able to manage it." The Secours populaire "always needs more people to implement this solidarity".

franceinfo: Will this ban on producers and distributors throwing away all unsold items allow you to recover more goods that will be useful to your beneficiaries?

Thierry Robert: We can only congratulate ourselves that what is still consumable does not go to the recycling centers. It is an advantage and something very positive. At the same time, it must be taken into consideration that we are an association of solidarity which preserves the dignity of people. And we cannot let it be assumed either that the poor and precarious would only have leftovers to live on. We believe it is important to highlight this fact. We have been recovering food products for several years now, but we have also been developing quality assistance with local producers for several months for access to fresh food products. The same is true for non-food products, which we did during the end-of-year celebrations, by allowing children to have new toys. One cannot be in poverty and only have what others no longer want.

What goods do you expect to receive?

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We're not here to pick up things families don't need. But everything that can be useful for a family that cannot afford to buy leisure products, clothing, hygiene products, or even furniture or everyday things, are of course welcome. What you have to understand is that this approach is tax-exempt for companies that donate. And we are recognized as being of public utility. And all this work also requires traceability and logistics management of transport, training for volunteers. And all this also has a cost for us. Giving also has a financial impact that requires fundraising campaigns.

Is the recovery sector already organized and ready and that everything will be able to be done fairly quickly?

When the law on food passed, we had already been involved in a voluntary approach for several years to recover food products. And there, in the same way, for years and years we have been recovering non-food products given to us by large retailers or by various and varied companies. We have 1,300 relays throughout France. It is obvious that, relying on voluntary work, it can only be done where voluntary action develops. And we always need more people to implement this solidarity. It is not for us something obligatory to receive. We only take it if we are able to manage it, to trace it, to give it in good conditions of dignity to the people who help us and that it is useful for them.