Restaurants and canteens in Shenzhen that sell leftovers to unauthorised reprocessors will face fines of up to 100,000 yuan under a new city government regulation designed to prevent the reuse of kitchen waste, Xinhua reported yesterday.
The city's eateries produce 2,500 tonnes of food waste every day, according to official figures.
Local media recently exposed a restaurant that was reportedly preparing its signature 'chicken casserole' dish with oil extracted from table leftovers.
'It's just like 'boiled Wujiang fish', which needs half a litre of oil,' a cook working for the restaurant said.
'If the dish, costing only 10 to 20 yuan, is cooked with fresh oil and the oil is thrown away each time, the restaurant must suffer a loss,' the cook added.
'If you were the boss, would you pour the oil out?'
The cook said he was initially reluctant to reuse the oil provided by his boss, but eventually became used to the practice.