Did you know that food waste generated from consumer households in Australia amounted to around 2.46 million metric tons in 2020? Or that almost a quarter of food bought in the country ends up in the trash?
Continue reading to learn more concerning food waste statistics in Australia and find out what is being done to tackle this serious issue.
Key Food Waste Statistics in Australia
- Aussies waste about 7.6 million tonnes of food a year.
- At 2.46 million tonnes, households contribute the most to food wastage in Australia.
- A total of 3,322 thousand tonnes of food waste ends up in landfills.
- 18% of purchased food is wasted and 70% of that food is edible.
- A frightening 40% of the average household garbage bin is only food.
- The hospitality industry wastes 65% of food during food preparations.
- Each year food wastage costs the Australian economy a whopping $36.6 billion.
- Production and disposal of food that is wasted generates 17.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
- Australia plans to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030.
- Benefits of reducing food waste will total $58 billion.
General Food Waste Statistics from Australia
1. Aussies waste about 7.6 million tonnes of food a year.
(Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment)
According to the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, food wastage in Australia stood at 7.6 million tonnes a year or about 312 kg per person. This 2018/2019 figure represents a slight increase of 0.3 million tonnes from the previous reporting period.
2. In 2021, 1 in 6 Australians didn’t have enough food.
(Foodbank, FIAL)
More food waste statistics from Australia reveal that 1.2 million children went hungry, while one in six adults didn’t have enough to eat. According to research by Food Innovation Australia Limited, food insecurity is on the rise, with demand for food relief going up to 47% in 2020. That same year, 43% of Australians who experienced food insecurity said they were going a whole day without food at least once a week.
3. At 2.46 million tonnes, households contribute the most to food wastage in Australia.
(FoodWise, FIAL)
Household food waste amounted to 2.46 million tonnes in 2021, which is nearly a third of the total. This data is even more shocking when we consider that the average Australian household spends an estimated $7,344 a year on groceries.
When it comes to who wastes the most food in Australia among households, it’s young consumers (18-24), families with children, and households with income over $100k that have performed the worst.
4. Primary production generates 1.68 million tonnes of food waste in Australia.
(Statista, Better Homes and Gardens, Ecoguardians)
The second-biggest producer of food wastage, after households, is primary production with a volume of around 1.68 million metric tonnes of food wasted.
The hospitality industry is also responsible for a significant quantity of food waste. In the restaurant industry, about 5% of all food is thrown away due to spoiling, while 65% of all food is discarded during food preparations.
What’s more, stats and facts on supermarket food waste reveal that 20% to 40% of fruits and vegetables are rejected before they even reach the shelves, mostly due to the particular standards of how the food should look.
Here are some alarming food waste statistics regarding Australia’s biggest industries:
- Restaurants generate up to 2.5kg of food waste per cover every week.
- 2kg of food per patient is being wasted daily in hospitals.
- Businesses in Australia create 2.5 million tonnes of organic waste every year.
5. A total of 3,322 thousand tonnes of food waste ends up in landfills.
(FIAL)
1,372 thousand tonnes were used for commercial compositing, while 1,372 thousand tonnes fall under the category of ‘on-farm disposal’. Of the total food waste generated in the country, only 10,126 thousand tonnes was processed in a way that recovered some of its value.
Food makes up over a third of all organic waste in the country, 42% of which is recycled, while almost 7 million tonnes end up in a landfill, the latest statistics on waste reveal.
6. 18% of purchased food is wasted and 70% of that food is edible.
Speaking of how much food is wasted in Australian society, data shows that around 18% of all purchased food in the country is thrown away. That is equal to throwing out 1 out of every 5 purchased grocery bags, so it should not come as a surprise that food makes up 40% of the average household garbage bin.
Here is another way to look at how much food is wasted in Australia: The amount of food that Aussies discard would be enough to fill 450,000 garbage trucks.
What makes this statistic even more daunting is the fact that 70% of the food thrown away was perfectly edible.
7. Households in NSW waste the most food.
According to FIAL, households in NSW not only waste more food than other states but also dispose of most of it in landfills, further polluting the environment.
According to a survey on food waste in New South Wales, the average household in the state bins $1,036 worth of food every year. The survey also found that 38% of all rubbish in New South Wales households is food, almost the same as the national average of around 40%.
8. Nearly 30% of Aussies leave uneaten food in restaurants.
(RMIT University)
29% of people in Australia leave food on their plates when they eat out, with an average of 21% of the meal left uneaten. The root of this problem is the unnecessarily large portions of food being served.
9. Food waste in the country increased dramatically during the Covid-19 pandemic.
(The Guardian)
During the pandemic and lockdowns in Australia, food waste reached $10.3 billion, or a record-breaking $1,043 per household a year. Nearly 50% of respondents in a 2020 survey put this down to spending more time cooking whereas 37% stated they had been experimenting with recipes, thus increasing the amount of waste they produce.
The rise in the number of food deliveries and the use of meal-kit services also increased the amount of food wasted. The survey found that the people who used these services generated twice as much food waste as those who did not. During the pandemic, over 60% of respondents used delivery services with over 33% of them ordering food at least once a week. 36% (up from 8%) used meal-kit services.
10. 33% of wasted food is fresh produce.
It is estimated that the biggest portion of food waste in Australia is made up of fresh fruit and vegetables with a staggering 33% or $2.67 billion worth of food. Next in line with 27% are leftovers from unfinished meals, costing $2.18bn, followed by packaged and long-life products, that make up 15% of all wasted food.
Both frozen food and drinks make up 9% each (or $727 million worth), and lastly the smallest portion of waste comes from takeaways and delivery food (7% or $566 million).
FIAL on the other hand estimates that six commodities, out of 18 assessed, accounted for the majority of food waste.
Milk, 97 litres of which was consumed per capita in 2019/20, also ranked pretty high for its climate impact as well.
In fact, milk that is wasted generates 1,231,979 tonnes of CO2 equivalent from households alone and is the second biggest after red meat, which generates 2,910,294 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Costs and Environmental Effects of Food Waste in Australia
11. Each year food wastage costs the Australian economy a whopping $36.6 billion.
(Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, WMRR)
US$19.3 billion of this amount is generated from households, which translates to $2,000 to $2,500 per household. According to a study by Fight Food Waste CRC, Australian households waste an average of $970 per person every year on food that eventually gets thrown out.
12. Throwing away food wastes other resources as well.
When food is thrown out, the elements that go into producing it are also wasted. The country uses 2600 gigalitres of water to produce food that is ultimately wasted. So, by eliminating food waste, Australia would save around 286 litres of water per person a day.
What’s more, the amount of land used to grow wasted food in Australia amounts to 25+ million hectares, which is larger than the state of Victoria.
13. Production and disposal of food that is wasted generate 17.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
(FIAL, Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, LiveLighter)
This figure, which doesn’t factor in emissions from exported food, is already the equivalent to yearly emissions from Australia’s highest-emitting power station. It also accounts for around 3.5% of the country’s total emissions.
What’s more, methane generated from food decomposing in landfills is the equivalent of nearly 6.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. Methane is a natural gas 25 times more toxic than carbon dioxide and it’s one of the leading factors in creating the greenhouse effect.
Global Food Waste Statistics
14. Globally, food waste costs $936 billion per year.
(World Economic Forum, Food and Agriculture Organization)
According to the WEForum, with social and environmental costs combined, food wastage generates around US$2.6 trillion in unrecoverable losses.
FAO, on the other hand, estimates that food waste and loss inflict yearly costs to the economy in the amount of US$936 billion. This number can go even higher once we take into account health and economic costs amounting to a devastating 12 trillion US dollars.
15. 660 million people around the world will face hunger in 2030.
(United Nations)
In addition, there are 768 million undernourished people in the world. Although there is enough food for every human being, there are still 1 in 9 people that go to bed on an empty stomach.
16. 931 million tonnes of food is thrown away every year across the planet.
(Forbes)
Most of that waste comes from households (569 million tonnes), with the food service (244 million tonnes) and retail (118 million tonnes) following. Per capita, food wasted globally comes out to a shocking 74kg.
17. China wastes the most food a year.
However, when calculated per capita, it’s Australia that has the highest share of food wastage—102 kg. This is almost half of what the US wastes per capita (59kg) or nearly three times more than Russia (33kg).
Australia also precedes China, which wastes over 91 million tonnes of food a year (but only 64kg per capita) and India which throws away 50kg per person or 69 million tonnes in total.
Tackling Food Waste in Australia
18. Australia plans to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030.
According to FIAL, if the recommended scenario that proposes halving food waste in the country by 2030 is being implemented fully, food waste could be reduced by 52% in the given time period. This means that food waste will go down to 4.4 million tonnes, or a per capita reduction from 312kg to 148kg.
19. An investment of 7 to 7.5 million dollars is needed over the next decade to reduce food waste.
So far, $4.6 billion has either been allocated or is assumed to be committed, leaving 28% to be committed in the future. From this amount, FIAL estimates that $1.45 billion (or 75%) will be pledged by the industrial sector, mostly through voluntary agreements. The Federal government is expected to contribute a further $0.35bn (on top of the $4.55bn it already contributed), while the state government, which already pledged $0.64bn, will add another $0.16 billion.
20. Benefits of reducing food waste will total $58 billion.
More specifically, 22.4 million tonnes of food waste and 50.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions will be avoided, which incidentally is the same as taking half of the vehicles in the country off the road for a whole year.
Consumers themselves will save around $15bn, while the industry will get $39 billion in direct savings.
Final Words
Food waste is not only the cause of astronomical economic losses but, more importantly, some serious environmental and social problems.
With around 20% of purchased food being thrown away, 70% of which is perfectly edible, there are many resources used to grow that food that end up being wasted simultaneously.
Hopefully, the food waste statistics in Australia above will raise some awareness and contribute to reducing the staggering amount of food discarded in the country.
- Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
- Better Homes and Gardens
- Ecoguardians
- FIAL
- FIAL
- Food and Agriculture Organization
- Foodbank
- FoodWise
- Forbes
- LiveLighter
- RMIT University
- Statista
- The Guardian
- United Nations
- WMRR
- World Economic Forum
