According to The Guardian, Luis Planas, Spain's agricultural, fisheries and food minister, stated that the draft bill's purpose is to reduce the 1.300 tons of annual food waste that the country outputs.

The law has been sent to the parliament for approval and state officials hope that it will be in place shortly after 2023 begins.

Similar efforts have been taken in other European countries, such as France and Italy.

Planas said that the law is a “pioneering judicial instrument” which should allow for the reduction of economical, ethical and environmental costs.

"In a world where unfortunately hunger and malnutrition still exist, these are things which weigh on everyone’s conscience", the minister added.

The new draft bill will force supermarkets and restaurants to work with local organizations and food banks in order to limit their waste output.

Also, medium and large-scale food businesses will have to come up with a plan to tackle food waste, the priority being donating the food excess before its expiration date.

The law also makes suggestions for overripen fruits, which could be turned into jams or juice, which should further prevent food waste accumulation and provide healthy drinks for the population.

If it can't be repurposed this way, fruit excess can be used as animal feedstock or for the production of biofuels and fertilizers.

Also, for customers who dine out in the city, restaurants will have to provide them with containers in which they can take home what they haven't eaten.

The Spanish government is aware of the fact that quite a bit of the food waste is coming from people's homes, which is why instead of fining people, officials will try to release educational campaigns to inform people on how they can stop wasting food.

Companies that fail to follow the new law will be faced with fines going up to 60.000 euros or up to 500.000 euros for repeat offences.

In a recent report, the United Nations stated that almost one billion tons of food is being wasted annually on a global level, while in turn, billions of people face hunger or can't afford a healthy diet.

Additionally, food waste is related to around 10% of the emissions that fuel global warming.