Food Waste Index report: published today

[Tom Quested]

Dear Food-waste-research community,

 

Last September, I sent a message to this group asking for your help tracking down national food waste studies (see below). Many of you responded with really useful information that we may not have found otherwise – thank you for all those responses.

 

That request was linked to the UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021, which was published earlier today. This contains new estimates of global food waste in three sectors: retail, food service and household. If you get a moment, it may well be worth a read.

 

As mentioned in my previous email, the dataset underlying this report is also likely to be published shortly – I’ll circulate the link for this when it’s available, as it could be a useful resource to many of you on this group.

 

All the best,

Tom

 

Dr Tom Quested | Lead Analyst | WRAP
Direct +44 (0) 1295 817890 | Mobile +44 (0) 7773 961 890

Email tom.q...@wrap.org.uk | Pronouns: he/his – why have I put this?

 

I’ve had the pleasure of working with many great people recently. Below are links to the most recent outputs we’ve created:

New report: UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021

Using discrete event simulation to explore food wasted in the home, Journal of Simulation

Comparing diaries and waste compositional analysis for measuring food waste in the home, Journal of Cleaner Production

 

The content of this email (including attachments) is confidential and is subject to the terms of WRAP’s email disclaimer at http://www.wrap.org.uk/disclaimer and is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed. The Waste and Resources Action Programme (which operates as WRAP) is a registered UK Charity No. 1159512 and registered as a Company limited by guarantee in England & Wales No. 4125764. Registered office at Second Floor, Blenheim Court, 19 George Street, Banbury, Oxon, OX16 5BH, United Kingdom.

 

From: Tom Quested
Sent: 23 September 2020 12:38
To: foodwast...@googlegroups.com
Cc: Hamish Forbes <hamish...@wrap.org.uk>; Tom Quested <tom.q...@wrap.org.uk>
Subject: National Food Waste Quantification Studies

 

Hi Food-waste-research community,

 

I hope this email finds you all well in your different parts of the world. I’m emailing to ask your collective hive-mind for some help with a project that Hamish and I are working on at WRAP alongside the UN Environment Programme.

 

We’re gathering data in order to make an estimate of food waste globally. The information we’re looking for is:

§  Estimates that cover a whole nation, or a substantial part of a nation (e.g. large city, state or province)

§  Estimates for one (or more) of the following sectors:

§  Manufacturing

§  Retail

§  Out-of-home consumption settings

§  Households

(Other parts of the supply chain – although important – are not included in this study.)

• Quantified using some form of direct measurement for that country (e.g. direct weighing, waste compositional analysis, scanning items being wasted, etc.). We are not searching for modelled estimates based on literature data (such as those derived from the 2011 FAO study) – however, where national waste factors have been derived from a prior, direct observation or measurement, this may be of interest.
• Studies with a clear and transparent methodology.

 

We’ve already collated a few hundred studies, and I’ve attached a spreadsheet showing the coverage. As you will see, we have very few for some combinations of sectors and continents. If you are aware of a study for a particular country that fits the all of the criteria above, please check the spreadsheet – if it has a red cross, please send Hamish and me a link to the study, or the study itself if it’s not available on-line. If you’re unsure, send us a message and we can discuss.

 

The study we working on should be published in early 2021, and the plan is for the database collected to be published alongside the report – so that all those who have contributed (as well as other people) have access and can use it for their own research.

 

Many thanks in advance for your time and any help you’re able to provide. 😊  

 

All the best,

Tom

 

Dr Tom Quested | Lead Analyst | WRAP
Direct +44 (0) 1295 817890 | Mobile +44 (0) 7773 961 890

 

I’ve had the pleasure of working with lots of great people on recent projects. Below are links to some of the outputs I’ve been involved with:

Comparing diaries and waste compositional analysis for measuring food waste in the home, Journal of Cleaner Production

Guidance for evaluating interventions preventing household food waste, REFRESH report.

Helping consumers reduce food waste through better labelling and product changes, WRAP report.

The role of reducing food waste for resilient food systems, Ecosystem Services

Food Loss and Waste: Measurement, Drivers, and Solutions, Annual Review of Environment and Resources

Comparing wasted apples and oranges: An assessment of methods to measure in-home food waste, Waste Management