31. It is an issur of bal tashchis to throw away edible food – even leftovers – that people would still eat, even if one does not want it. Since people do not normally eat leftover food on a plate someone ate from, one may throw away such leftovers lechatchiloh.
32. Common practice. Nevertheless, people commonly throw away all leftovers as well as food that is not so fresh and they do not want anymore. They rely on the fact that since they do not plan on eating the food and it will anyway go bad and become useless, it is not an act of destroying to throw it away (ברכת השם סי' ג' סקכ"ח בשם הגריש"א ). Also, throwing such food away is not ruining something that was going to be used by someone (הגרי"י זילברשטיין ).
33. Leftover bread. Leftover bread should lechatchiloh be placed in a bag before being thrown away so that it is not degraded (זאת הברכה סוף פ"ב ).
34. Catering companies, halls. Event halls usually have lots of leftover food after events. For the leftover food in the kitchen, they should contact an organization that collects this type of food to distribute it to the needy. However, for leftover food on tables – even full platters of food – if it is a big hassle to sort, select, and collect the good food, these businesses rely on the heter that the effort has more value than the food and throwing it away is not an issur of bal tashchis (ברכת השם סי' ג' אות כ"ט ).
35. Kiddush, sholom zochor, seudah shlishis. Similarly, if it is a hassle to pick out the good leftover food after a kiddush, sholom zochor, or seudah shlishis, one does not need to go to the trouble. He may rely on this heter to wrap up everything in a disposable tablecloth and throw it all away. This is the widespread practice.
