- Hernani City Hall has launched an initiative to prevent food waste and reduce organic waste such as the Zero Zabor refrigerator. The students of the Aratz and Langile schools have filled for the first time the machine that they have installed in the street in the area of the Txantxila neighborhood: they are in charge of embarking the leftover food in the dining room and taking it to the street machine. This food is available to all people and you don't have to pay for it.
Seeing that in school canteens about 8% of the food was thrown in the trash, the Hernani City Hall has launched the Zero Zabor refrigerator, one of those street machines that sell food, but are supplied by sixth graders from the village with the food that has left them in the dining room.
This refrigerator allows you to store up to 100 containers. Today it has been the first time that pupils in schools in Aratz and Langile have met this requirement. According to the result of this pilot test, the City Hall will invite other local schools to participate in the program.
Unique rules of use
Anyone who approaches the machine may expect notes like "stick the coin and press the button," but you won't find them on these Hernani machines. These foods can be shared free of charge by anyone, but it is worth reading the rules that reflect the philosophy of this initiative:
1) Think about others, just take what you need.
2) If you have food intolerance or allergy, control what you take and before consuming it, read the label well.
3) Check the expiry date. Do not use out of time containers.
4) Use and storage of packaging: Refrigeration containers should be stored at the temperature set on the label and therefore refrigeration containers should be consumed and/or stored as quickly as possible in a refrigerator at 4°C or in a freezer at -18°C. The cold chain cannot be interrupted. The container should under no circumstances be more than half an hour (30 minutes) at room temperature. The consumer must assume responsibility for the safety of a food from the delivery of the packaging to its placing on the table.
5) Refrigerators can and should be used by all persons regardless of their socio-economic situation. The main objective is to avoid food waste and, to this end, packaging should be consumed as soon as possible.
6) The containers placed in this refrigerator have no owner, so the schools of Hernani and the Hernani City Hall, participating in the project, are exempt from health liability. Responsibility shall lie with the person receiving it.
7) The container and lid are compostable, so once emptied they should be deposited together with the organic (brown bucket).
