Every Australian needs to prevent 150 kilograms of food going to waste every year for the national target of halving food waste by 2030 to be met.
The state of play when it comes to food waste in Australia will be detailed at the National Food Waste Summit, which gets underway in Brisbane today.
Fight Food Waste Ltd – made up of the research organisation Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre and industry leader Stop Food Waste Australia – says it will take committed action from individuals, households, government, and industry to meet the 2030 target.
The summit will see government and business leaders (including Coles, Goodman Fielder, Simplot, and Mars), academics, and consumer behaviour psychologists check on progress against the Australian Government’s 2017 National Strategy on Food Waste.
In Australia, 7.6m tonnes of food is wasted each year – about 320 kilograms per person – and that waste generates 17.5m tonnes of CO2, over three per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions.
If every Australian slashed food waste by 30 per cent, they would save more than $33 billion and prevent 12 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Fight Food Waste CEO Dr Steven Lapidge said changing consumer behaviour is crucial.
“Australia’s goal to halve food waste by 2030 is a challenging target, but we believe it is one we can meet – but only with the collaboration and support of each and every Australia.
“Slashing your food waste by 30 per cent isn’t a dramatic lifestyle makeover – it can be as simple as buying the right amount of food, making sure you store it properly and eating your leftovers.”
Research by Fight Food Waste found up to 25 per cent of fruit and vegetables never leave the farm, mainly because they're not shaped for supermarket quality control demands. Then much of what shoppers buy ends up in the garbage bin and that adds up to more than $2500 a year per household.
The pandemic exacerbated the situation.
There are environmental implications from food waste. A 2021 United Nations report said if food waste were a country, it would be closely behind the US and China as the third-highest emitter of greenhouse gases.
And 31 per cent of all food grown in the world goes uneaten and ends up in landfill, accounting for almost 10 per cent of global emissions.
Australia’s national strategy is also a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal.
The summit will also see experts and business leaders call for tax concessions so businesses can donate food instead of throwing it away, which is a cheaper option right now for industry.
“Australia has extensive tax deductions for charitable donations, but no tax incentives to specifically target reducing food waste or addressing food insecurity,” Lapidge said.
“In many cases, it makes business sense to discard food rather than donate it since the cost of disposal is often lower. So under the current policy framework, it's far easier and cheaper for businesses to simply just throw out food.”
Federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek will present the welcome address at the summit.
