Last year, 122 kilos of food waste per person were thrown away in Sweden. In recent years, it has looked roughly the same, the amount of waste has not decreased either totally or per person since 2020.
Households account for half of the waste. Some of the waste is peels and other things that should not be eaten, but another significant part is food waste, i.e. things that could have been eaten and were thrown away unnecessarily.
The worst is in the restaurant and hotel industry, where there has been a significant increase in food waste since the pandemic. The increase is believed to be due to people returning to their workplaces and the number of overnight stays increasing.
In food stores, however, the trend is brighter. There, food waste has decreased significantly over the past three years.
In order for Sweden to reach the goal of a 20 per cent reduction per person from 2020 to 2025, waste must decrease in all areas. For households, it is a matter of better planning their purchases and checking, smelling or tasting the food to prevent food waste.
