From farmgate to plate, Food waste affects everyone.

Where does food waste occur?

Food waste happens at every stage of the food value chain.

Sector-based breakdown of food waste in Australia:

Food waste facts
  • Every year in Australia, 7.6 million tonnes of food is wasted, enough to fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground ten times over, 70% of which is edible (1).
  • Food waste costs the Australian economy $36.6 billion a year (1).
  • Food wasted at home costs households up to $2,500 a year, or $50 a week (2).
  • There are 3.4 million households in Australia experiencing food insecurity (3).
  • 2,600 gigalitres of water is used to grow food that is then wasted. That’s 5x the volume of water in the Sydney Harbour (1)..
  • A landmass bigger than the state of Victoria, 25.73 million hectares, is used to grow food that is then wasted (1).
  • Food waste generated 17.5 million tonnes of CO2-e every year. That’s 3% of Australia’s national GHG emissions (1).
  • Globally, food loss and waste generates up to 10% of all GHG emissions. If food loss and waste was a country, it would be third largest GHG emitter after China and the USA (4).

Is halving food waste by 2030 possible?

We can reduce Australia’s food waste by 52% by 2030 but it will take unprecedented action from governments, industry, investors, and the community to achieve this goal.

If all recommended actions were implemented, we could…

  • Reduce food waste by 22.5 million tonnes
  • Deliver a net benefit back to society of $58billion
  • Reduce GHG emissions by 50.5MT (equivalent of taking half of Australia’s vehicles off the road for a year).

the world is taking action

Australia has a stated goal of halving food waste by 2030, in line with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12.3.

Around the globe governments, businesses and people and joining the fight against food waste. Food waste reduction programs include voluntary agreements like the Australian Food Pact, consumer behaviour change campaigns, policy reform, and innovation and R&D like the Cooperative Research Centre.

End Food Waste Australia key programs include the:

If you grow, make, move, sell or buy food you are an important part of ending food waste.

Get Involved Today

Sources:

  1. FIAL (2021) National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Stud
  2. Karunasena, G.G, Pearson, D, and Fight Food Waste CRC (2021) Australian household food waste: A summary of behaviours, attitudes, perceived and actual food waste, Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre, Adelaide. Australia
  3. Foodbank 2024 hunger report.
  4. Scialabba (2015) Food wastage footprint and climate change
Explore

Why end food waste?

Food waste adversely affects industry profitability, people, and our planet. Learn about the substantial benefits of ending food waste.

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Our
Impact.

We have already made significant progress toward reducing food waste. Take a look at the ways we are shaping the future for the better.

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Discover the Australian Food Pact and how you can become part of the plan to end food waste and create a more sustainable future.

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