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An estimated 82kg of food is wasted by a person in a Bangladeshi home per year, much higher than that in rich countries like the United States (73kg), the Netherlands (59 kg), and Japan (60kg), a UN study has found.
Every year, 14.10 million metric tons of food are wasted by households in Bangladesh, according to the “Food Waste Index Report 2024,” published by the Nairobi-based United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on March 27, 2024.
The sorry state of food waste has worsened compared to the previous estimate. According to the Food Waste Index Report 2021, Bangladeshis waste 65kg of food annually at home, resulting in a total of 10.62 million metric tons of household food waste in the country.
In the report, “food waste” is defined as food and the associated inedible parts removed from the human food supply chain. “Food” is defined as any substance—whether processed, semi-processed, or raw—that is intended for human consumption. “Food” includes drink and any substance that has been used in the manufacture, preparation, or treatment of food.
Therefore, food waste includes both “edible parts”—the parts of food that were intended for human consumption—and “inedible parts”—components associated with food that are not intended to be consumed by humans. Examples of inedible parts associated with food could include bones, rinds, and pits/stones.
As the latest report puts it, the amount of food wasted in some developed countries by a person in a home per year is 76kg in China, 71kg in Belgium, 61kg in New Zealand, and 33kg in Russia.
The 2024 study, co-authored with WRAP, provides the most accurate global estimate of food waste at retail and consumer levels. It provides guidance for countries on improving data collection and suggests best practices for moving from measuring to reducing food waste.
The UN research estimates households across all continents wasted over 1 billion meals a day in 2022, while 783 million people were affected by hunger and a third of humanity faced food insecurity.
The report stated, “In 2022, there were 1.05 billion metric tons of food waste generated (including inedible parts), amounting to 132 kilograms per capita and almost one-fifth of all food available to consumers. Out of the total food wasted in 2022, 60% happened at the household level, with food services responsible for 28% and retail 12%.”
“Food waste is a global tragedy. Millions will go hungry today as food is wasted across the world,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of UNEP.
He further added, “Not only is this a major development issue, but the impacts of such unnecessary waste are causing substantial costs to the climate and nature. The good news is we know if countries prioritize this issue, they can significantly reverse food loss and waste, reduce climate impacts and economic losses, and accelerate progress on global goals.”
The report said food waste is not just a “rich country” problem, with levels of household food waste differing in observed average levels for high-income, upper-middle, and lower-middle-income countries by just 7kg per capita.
At the same time, hotter countries appear to generate more food waste per capita in households, potentially due to higher consumption of fresh foods with substantial inedible parts and a lack of robust cold chains.