Published last week (4 March), the report was launched in partnership with resources charity Wrap, and measured food waste on a global scale, looking at levels that occur from retail outlets, restaurants and households.
It found that household food waste levels are found to be “broadly similar” across countries with a similar income, but said there may be “insufficient data” to allow a comparative analysis across country income groups.
However, the UNEP said that food waste was “substantial” in every country, “regardless of income level”.
Marcus Gover, CEO of WRAP, said: “For a long time, it was assumed that food waste in the home was a significant problem only in developed countries. With the publication of the Food Waste Index report, we see that things are not so clear cut.
“With only 9 years to go, we will not achieve SDG 12 Target 3 if we do not significantly increase investment in tackling food waste in the home globally. This must be a priority for governments, international organisations, businesses and philanthropic foundations.”
Europe
In the report, estimates from every country were given a “confidence rating” to reflect the differences in methodology in gaining the data.
Europe was the most “well-documented” region, with a large number of data points across all sectors.
Between countries, however, there is a “substantial variation” in methodology and “confidence levels”, meaning countries may not be comparable.
It found that the UK had the highest recoded level of household food waste in Northern Europe, at 5,199,825 tonnes a year.
However, with 77kg of food waste per person, the UK ranked below a number of other European countries including France at 85kg, Norway at 81KG and Sweden at 77Kg.
Germany had 75kg of food waster per person per year, while Greece had the highest in Europe at 142kg.
Useful links
The full report can be found here
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