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Is throwing bread and food in rubbish bins haram, even though it may be of a type that is not fit to eat, or it has been in the fridge for a long time without anyone eating it?
Praise be to Allah.
Bread and food are among the blessings for which we must be grateful and we should preserve them and avoid mishandling them. Throwing them in rubbish bins or waste bins is mishandling them, and is wasting the money that was spent on them. The right thing to do is to give them to those who can make use of them, such as the poor or animals, or they may be put in separate bags so that the sanitary workers will know that they contain food that is to be treated with respect, and they can give them to those who raise poultry and livestock, as is done in some countries. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “In every living being there is reward.” Narrated by al-Bukhari (2363) and Muslim (2244).
Shaykh Ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: With regard to bread, meat and other kinds of food, it is not permissible to throw them in the trash; rather they must be given to those who need them, or they should be put in a conspicuous place where they will not be trampled on or mishandled, in the hope that they will be taken by someone who needs them for his animals, or they may be eaten by some animals and birds. It is not permissible to put them in the rubbish bin or in filthy places or in the street, because that comes under the heading of mishandling them, and because putting them in the street is both mishandling them and causing annoyance to those who walk in the street."(Majmu‘ al-Fatawa 23/39).
And Allah knows best.