
In recent years, the Polish legislature has made a legitimate attempt to counter the food waste phenomenon by introducing several legal instruments, including the food waste fee. A specific set of features characterizes each financial performance imposed on entities operating in public law. It affects the scope of rights and obligations assigned in connection with it to the entity obligated to pay. The specific construction of the food waste fee justifies doubts about its legal nature. In particular, the entity entitled to receive this financial performance, which does not belong to the public finance sector, favored addressing this issue. The author analyzed the literature and jurisprudence using the analytical method and examined the regulations in force in this regard using the formal-dogmatic method. The steps taken showed that the food waste fee does not correspond to the legislature's nomenclature. Its characteristics also do not allow it to qualify as a tax, other public tribute, or administrative monetary penalty. Moreover, the construction of this legal instrument denies its belonging to the broader catalog of public benefits. The author concludes that doubts about the legal basis for such an obligation imposed by law are justified. It provides a basis for the Constitutional Tribunal to take up this issue.