How can you measure food waste?

Food waste is a complex issue and it has a significant impact

on our environment, society and economy.

When it comes to food waste

the saying “what gets measured gets managed” is particularly relevant.

We must measure food waste not only in restaurants, cafeterias and school canteens

but also in households to fully grasp the problem and take action.

But first, what is food waste?

Food waste encompasses all the food that you discard

whether it’s thrown out in the bin, composted, or disposed through the drain or in the toilet.

It includes both edible and inedible parts of foods

such as vegetable peels, bones, or coffee grounds.

If you monitor food waste over a period of time, you can identify the hotspots

when and where most food waste occurs, and which types of food are most wasted.

This information can help you determine the economic

and environmental impacts of food waste and allow you to assess

the effectiveness of your actions put in place to reduce it.

To understand if your action is effective

you need to measure food waste quantities before and after you implement it

and consider the resources involved.

It is worth monitoring food waste levels over a longer period

to see if you need to adjust the action in the long run.

There are many direct and indirect methods to measure food waste.

You can choose the method that suits you best or combine several methods.

How can you use direct methods to measure food waste?

One of the most widely used methods is direct weighing.

You simply need a scale to weigh the waste.

This method is suitable for monitoring food waste in various settings

such as households and restaurants or canteens, and it is easy to implement.

Direct weighing is often combined with another method:

food waste diaries.

Diaries can be used to record food waste levels, either

through weighing or visual observation of food waste quantities.

A benefit of this method is that you can keep track of waste

disposed of through the bin, drains or compost

and you can also note the types of food that you throw away.

Surveys are another accessible method to collect

information on food waste from multiple sites.

Instead of only focusing on food waste quantities and types of food

they can also gather data on behavioural aspects, such as reasons for discarding food.

Be aware that the results of surveys and diaries might lead to ‘self-reporting bias’

as people tend to underestimate their food waste.

Therefore, it is a good idea to complement them

with other methods, such as direct weighing.

A more complex method is waste compositional analysis.

It includes physically sorting, weighing, and categorizing food waste

to understand types of food and quantities discarded.

While it is an accurate measuring method

it requires significant resources

and does not capture waste disposed of through the drain or toilets.

It is primarily used to monitor waste generation at national

or city levels by analysing a representative sample of the population.

Finally, through the observation and photo registration method

you can count the bins or use a scoring system

to estimate the total food waste.

Although less precise, these methods can be effectively utilised

in canteens where resources are limited.

For example, to monitor plate waste.

With recent advancements in technology

numerous companies have created apps and other

digital tools to help measure food waste.

For instance, cutting-edge solutions using

AI-powered softwares connected to digital scales help

identify types and quantities of wasted food.

By monitoring food waste

you contribute to a sustainable future.

Keep the momentum going!

Visit our webpage for additional tutorials and online tools

to help prevent consumer food waste!