According to the UN Environment Programme, about how many tonnes of food are thrown away each year by households, shops and restaurants worldwide?
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Answer
About 1 billion tonnes
Around 60 percent of that waste happens at home, and the amount wasted per person is surprisingly similar in rich and middle income countries.
How to estimate it
Think about what ends up in the bin. Between the kitchen at home, the supermarket and restaurants, about 2 kg of food per person is discarded each week, which is 2 × 52 = 104 kg a year. With 8 billion people, 8,000,000,000 × 104 kg is about 830 million tonnes. The UN estimate is about 1 billion tonnes per year.
Source: UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024
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