Contents
- Food waste from households statistics: the 2022 global baseline
- Food waste from households statistics by region
- Food waste from households statistics: edible and inedible food
- food waste from households: Household food waste statistics in France
- food waste from households: Household food waste statistics in Malaysia
- food waste from households: Household food waste disposal statistics in Ireland
- food waste from households: Household food waste statistics: diary study in Germany
- Sources
Food waste from households statistics: the 2022 global baseline
UNEP estimated that households generated 631 million tonnes of food waste worldwide in 2022. The estimate includes both edible and inedible parts. On a per-person basis, the global household estimate was 79 kg per capita per year. These are estimates for 2022, not direct counts of every household’s discarded food. Source: UNEP, Food Waste Index Report 2024, Table 23
| Global household measure | Estimate | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Food waste generated | 631 million tonnes | 2022; edible and inedible parts |
| Waste per capita | 79 kg per capita per year | 2022 |
Source: UNEP, Food Waste Index Report 2024, Table 23
UNEP also says households account for around 60% of food waste counted across the household, food-service, and retail sectors. The percentage compares household waste with the combined waste total for those 3 sectors; it is not a share of all food produced or of all waste. Source: UNEP, Food Waste Index Report 2024, narrative following the global estimates
The global total, per-capita estimate, and sector share describe different aspects of the same broad baseline. The total gives estimated mass, the per-capita value expresses the estimate relative to population, and the sector share gives household waste’s place within the 3 measured sectors. The report observations here do not provide a comparable annual sequence from which to describe a trend. Source: UNEP, Food Waste Index Report 2024, Table 23 and narrative following the global estimates
Food waste from households statistics by region
UNEP’s regional table reports household waste-generation estimates per person for 3 regions. It gives 140 kg per capita per year for Northern Africa, 93 kg per capita per year for Sub-Saharan Africa, and 95 kg per capita per year for Latin America and the Caribbean. The report presents these as regional estimates based on studies and does not assign them a single observation year. They should not be read as measurements taken in one common year or as evidence that any region’s rate is rising or falling. Source: UNEP, Food Waste Index Report 2024, Table 22
| Region | Average household waste generation |
|---|---|
| Northern Africa | 140 kg per capita per year |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 93 kg per capita per year |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 95 kg per capita per year |
Source: UNEP, Food Waste Index Report 2024, Table 22
These estimates offer a regional overview while retaining the context of the underlying studies. The global baseline and regional values share a per-capita framing, but the regional table does not establish that every estimate came from the same observation period or method. Each figure is best read with its region, unit, and estimation context attached. Source: UNEP, Food Waste Index Report 2024, Tables 22–23
Food waste from households statistics: edible and inedible food
Food waste statistics can include discarded food and inedible parts, while some studies also report the edible share separately. UNEP’s cited studies show different edible shares: Brazil’s cited study reported 31%; the cited Indonesia estimate averaged 34%, with datapoints ranging from 21% to 47%; and the cited Israel study reported 54%. These are study-specific figures, not current national estimates. The Indonesia range covers 6 datapoints. Source: UNEP, Food Waste Index Report 2024, Table 19
| Country or study setting | Edible share reported | Study context |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 31% | Study cited 2023 |
| Indonesia | 34% average; range 21%–47% | Study cited 2022; 6 datapoints |
| Israel | 54% | Study cited 2018 |
Source: UNEP, Food Waste Index Report 2024, Table 19
The percentages describe the edible share within household food waste recorded in each cited study. Definitions and methods vary, so the figures do not form a standardized country ranking. They also do not establish that the remaining share was measured or classified in the same way in every study. Source: UNEP, Food Waste Index Report 2024, Table 19 and accompanying methodological notes
food waste from households: Household food waste statistics in France
In France, household consumption at home generated 4.3 million tonnes of food waste in 2024. SDES classed 69% of that mass as non-edible. The remaining 31%, or 1.3 million tonnes, was assimilated to food wastage. The figures therefore distinguish the non-edible material from the edible fraction treated as food wastage. Source: SDES, Déchets et gaspillage alimentaires en France en 2024, paragraph beginning “Sur les 4,3 Mt…”
| France household measure | 2024 figure |
|---|---|
| Food waste from consumption at home | 4.3 million tonnes |
| Non-edible share | 69% |
| Edible fraction treated as food wastage | 31%; 1.3 million tonnes |
The French figures cover household food waste from consumption at home, including edible and inedible parts. SDES says its 2024 data draw on ADEME Collecte 2024, Modecom 2024, and home-composting surveys processed by SDES. It cautions that methodological changes make the figures non-comparable with earlier estimates. The 2024 measures should therefore be read on their own terms rather than used to claim a trend against prior estimates. Source: SDES, Déchets et gaspillage alimentaires en France en 2024
food waste from households: Household food waste statistics in Malaysia
Malaysia’s NHIS 2025 survey release reports that 79.3% of households disposed of food waste together with another household waste, while 20.7% practiced separate food-waste disposal. These percentages describe reported household practices; they do not show what share of the food-waste mass went through each method. Source: Department of Statistics Malaysia, Special Release: Household Food Waste in Malaysia 2025, page 2
The release also gives an estimated household food-waste range of 31.9 to 97.3 kg per capita per year. It is a range, not one national average. The survey observation period is NHIS 2025, and the release page gives its publication date as 2 July 2026. The survey year and release date refer to different things. Source: Department of Statistics Malaysia, Special Release: Household Food Waste in Malaysia 2025, page 2
| Malaysian household indicator | Reported figure | What it describes |
|---|---|---|
| Food waste disposed with other household waste | 79.3% | Households’ reported disposal practice |
| Separate food-waste disposal | 20.7% | Households’ reported disposal practice |
| Estimated food waste per capita | 31.9 to 97.3 kg per capita per year | NHIS 2025 estimate range |
The disposal percentages describe household responses, while the per-capita range describes an estimated quantity per person. They have different measures and should not be combined as though they shared a denominator or divided the same mass. Source: Department of Statistics Malaysia, Special Release: Household Food Waste in Malaysia 2025, page 2
food waste from households: Household food waste disposal statistics in Ireland
Ireland’s 2024 household survey asked about the usual way food waste was disposed of. Its scope included raw or cooked food and edible or inedible parts. Among weighted households, 52% usually put food waste in the organic brown bin for collection, 22% used the general residual-waste bin, and 13% composted food waste at home. These figures describe household responses about usual methods, not shares of food waste by mass. Source: Central Statistics Office Ireland, Household Environmental Behaviours: Waste and Recycling 2024, Table 2.3
| Usual household disposal method | Weighted households, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Organic brown bin for collection | 52% |
| General residual-waste bin for collection | 22% |
| Compost at home | 13% |
These percentages are survey responses from weighted households about their usual method. They do not quantify the amount handled by each method. The survey’s food-waste scope includes raw and cooked food, whether edible or inedible, which differs from measures limited to edible waste or expressed as mass per person. Source: Central Statistics Office Ireland, Household Environmental Behaviours: Waste and Recycling 2024, Table 2.3
food waste from households: Household food waste statistics: diary study in Germany
A representative diary study across Germany collected reports from 6,853 participating households during a 14-day period in 2016–2017. In the results, 5% of households reported no food waste during the diary period, 12% reported only inedible food waste, and 75% reported both edible and inedible food waste. These are household reporting shares over the diary period, not annual quantities per person. Source: Sustainability, “Characteristics and Determinants of Domestic Food Waste: A Representative Diary Study across Germany,” Results section
| Household report during the 14-day diary period | Share of participating households |
|---|---|
| No food waste reported | 5% |
| Only inedible food waste reported | 12% |
| Both edible and inedible food waste reported | 75% |
The percentages describe what participating households recorded over 14 days. The study excluded the 346 households reporting no waste from further analyses and said that zero reported waste was considered unlikely within a 14-day period. The 5% response remains part of the reported household distribution, but later analyses use a different set of households. These reporting shares do not establish a national annual estimate. Source: Sustainability, “Characteristics and Determinants of Domestic Food Waste: A Representative Diary Study across Germany,” Results and methods
The diary findings show how edible status appeared in household reports over a defined short period. Across these sources, the reported measures include estimated tonnes and kilograms, study-specific edible shares, usual disposal practices, and household diary responses. Their distinct dates, populations, and definitions matter when reading food waste from households statistics together. Source: Sustainability, “Characteristics and Determinants of Domestic Food Waste: A Representative Diary Study across Germany”
Sources
- Food Waste Index Report 2024
- Déchets et gaspillage alimentaires en France en 2024 : le gaspillage à domicile toujours prépondérant (SDES)
- Special Release: Household Food Waste in Malaysia 2025
- Household Environmental Behaviours: Waste and Recycling 2024 — Waste Disposal (CSO Ireland)
- Characteristics and Determinants of Domestic Food Waste: A Representative Diary Study across Germany
- United Kingdom Food Security Report 2024