Quantifying household waste of fresh fruit and vegetables in the EU

Abstract

According to national studies conducted in EU countries, fresh fruit and vegetables contribute to almost 50% of the food waste generated by households. This study presents an estimation of this waste flow, differentiating between unavoidable and avoidable waste. The calculation of these two flows serves different purposes. The first (21.1 kg per person per year) provides a measure of the amount of household waste intrinsically linked to the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables, and which would still be generated even in a zero-avoidable waste future scenario. The second (14.2 kg per person per year) is a quantity that could be reduced/minimised by applying targeted prevention strategies. The unavoidable waste was assessed at product level, by considering the inedible fraction and the purchased amounts of the fifty-one most consumed fruits and vegetables in Europe. The avoidable waste was estimated at commodity group level, based on the results of national studies conducted in six EU member states. Significant differences in the amounts of avoidable and unavoidable waste generated were found across countries, due to different levels of wasteful behaviours (linked to cultural and economic factors) and different consumption patterns (influencing the amount of unavoidable waste generated). The results of this study have implications for policies both on the prevention and the management of household food waste.

Energy Embedded in Food Loss Management and in the Production of Uneaten Food: Seeking a Sustainable Pathway

“…This has already been tested in many rural contexts around the world, existing good and diverse examples, as the works developed by Raha et al [56] in India, and Kelebe and Olorunnisola [57] in Ethiopia. Another argument in favour of this decentralisation option is the fact that valorisation in form of biogas is, generally, more applicable when there is homogeneity of the waste [58], and homogeneous FL streams are most likely generated before being mixed with the rest of the FL [59]. In this sense, there are several technological challenges that require future research in order to deploy this technology for small and medium applications.…”

Fruit Wastes as Promising Sources of Starch: Extraction, Properties, and Applications

“…[5] Among the total of food wastes generated, it is estimated that 14.8% are from fruit/vegetable production and processing; additionally, in households almost 50% of the food waste is generated by fruit and vegetables. [6] Disposal of these wastes may result in serious environmental impacts besides damages in the food and agriculture sector. In this sense, studies have been proposed to transform these wastes into high value-added products.…”

Food waste accounting along global and European food supply chains: State of the art and outlook

“…apple or potato peels, may be edible, in the sense that they are suitable for human consumption and have a nutritional value, and, at the same time, be considered unavoidable FW in contexts where they are not generally eaten. Hence, the distinction between avoidable and unavoidable should be coupled with a clear definition of which types of FW fall under the two categories to support FW quantification, as recently performed for fruit and vegetables by De Laurentiis et al (2018) . Avoidable FW is most likely happening at the consumption stage.…”

“…The separation of edible and inedible fractions of food may happen at different points of the supply chain, such manufacturing or consumption, depending on the form in which the food is consumed ( Bernstad et al, 2017 ). Homogeneous FW streams are most likely generated at the manufacturing stage, where FW can be collected separately ( De Laurentiis et al, 2018 ). In households and food services, instead, FW is generally managed as organic waste or mixed municipal waste, except for particular FW categories, such as used cooking oils.…”