"Everything's on the list!" — Avoid food waste with smart planning
Join now and submit your ideas for the “Too Good for the Trash!” 2026 Action Week
From September 29 to October 6, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Home Affairs (BMLEH) and the federal states are once again inviting participants to join the nationwide “Too Good for the Trash!” action week. Clubs, initiatives, schools, daycare centers, companies, and other interested parties can submit their proposals starting now. This year’s campaign places a special focus on well-thought-out meal planning and grocery shopping, though initiatives on other topics are also welcome.
Through this campaign week, “Too Good for the Trash!” aims to raise consumer awareness about food waste and increase appreciation for food. After all, private households still generate far too much food waste—an average of 75 kilograms per person per year. Even small changes in daily life can make a big difference here and help reduce avoidable waste. “Every shopping list, every glance in the fridge, and every cut-open bell pepper that’s factored into the next meal saves food. With this year’s campaign week, we want to show how simple and effective well-thought-out planning can be in everyday life. ‘Too Good for the Trash!’ offers plenty of information and tips for this,” says Janina Unger from the ‘Too Good for the Trash!’ coordination office.
2026 Motto: Everything on the List!
This year’s “Too Good for the Trash!” campaign week focuses on the topic of planning. The motto “Everything on the List” doesn’t just refer to the classic paper shopping list or planning purchases via apps. It also conveys how important it is to regularly take stock of what’s in your pantry at home: What food do you already have? What needs to be used up? What’s missing for the planned meals? If you know this, you can shop more strategically and are less likely to give in to impulse buys that might end up in the trash later. “Everything on the List” therefore stands for a mindful and forward-thinking approach to food—from shopping to using up leftovers.
Campaign activities are visible on a map of Germany
The “Too Good for the Trash!” campaign week thrives on the participation of many dedicated individuals across Germany. Whether in stores, at schools and daycare centers, in company cafeterias, at club events, at information booths in pedestrian zones, or online—there are opportunities everywhere to raise awareness about food waste and the value of food. Starting now, clubs, initiatives, municipalities, companies, educational institutions, and dedicated individuals can easily submit their activities to “Too Good for the Trash!” for free using a registration form. From food quizzes to cooking workshops and online seminars, all the way to school projects and chopping parties—anything is possible.
Submitted entries will be published on the interactive map of Germany on the “Too Good for the Trash!” website. This allows citizens to find out about events in their region and participate if interested. Various materials from “Too Good for the Trash!” can be used for these events and ordered here free of charge. Anyone wishing to organize their own initiatives can also find an overview of all “Too Good for the Trash!” offerings and materials, as well as inspiration for the action week, in the newly published toolkit for reducing food waste: Make a Bigger Impact with “Too Good for the Trash!”
Background
The nationwide “Zu gut für die Tonne!” action week is a joint initiative of “Zu gut für die Tonne!” and the federal states. It always begins on September 29, the International Day Against Food Waste. In 2026, it will take place for the seventh time. More information, as well as an interactive map of Germany showing all registered events, is available at www.zugutfuerdietonne.de. Additionally, “Too Good for the Trash!” is active on social media under the hashtags #ZuGutFürDieTonne and #DeutschlandRettetLebensmittel.
Every year, approximately 11 million metric tons of food waste are generated in Germany along the entire food supply chain, with about 60 percent of that coming from private households alone. This also includes unavoidable waste such as fruit and nut shells, coffee grounds, cheese rinds, and eggshells. Since 2012, “Too Good for the Trash!” has been showing consumers how they can reduce avoidable food waste.
“Too Good for the Trash!” and the nationwide campaign week are part of the BMLEH’s National Strategy for Reducing Food Waste. With the National Strategy, the BMLEH addresses not only private households but also the sectors of primary production, processing, wholesale and retail, and foodservice. A pact against food waste with the retail sector and a target agreement for foodservice have already been concluded. The Cross-Sectoral Competence Center for the Prevention of Food Waste and Loss (KLAV), which was established within the Agency for Renewable Resources (FNR) (FNR), offers practical information and training programs, particularly for companies at the beginning of the food supply chain, and promotes dialogue at the interfaces between sectors.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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