The 7+ million tonnes of food we waste every year – 70 per cent of which is edible – not only costs the economy $36.6 billion every year, but wastes agricultural land larger than Victoria (25+ million hectares) and 286 litres of water per person, per day. The National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study, released by Food and Agribusiness Growth Centre (FIAL), says that despite this, we can achieve the target of halving food waste by 2030, we just need to do, well, everything.
The study’s goals were to update the national food waste baseline, test different scenarios to determine their feasibility, develop a recommended scenario trajectory, and collate a clear evidence base to underpin the actions needed.
One of the key aspects of the report is open access to underlying data sets that the study draws on. Its Data Dashboard means industry and government stakeholders can filter the baseline, identified hotspots, and scenario data to extract key insights relevant to their sector, commodity or intervention type.
The study drew up four food waste reduction scenarios:
- Current progress maintained: continue the current trajectory, business-as-usual;
- Policy led: legal and regulatory focus, fiscal and financial incentives, infrastructure development;
- Industry led: private sector action across supply chain, increased focus on voluntary agreements, market-based changes to the waste system; and
- Do everything: Significant but plausible investment in innovation, fiscal and financial incentives, high regulation, high impact trajectory for voluntary agreement, high citizen engagement and industry involvement.
The upshot is the “Do everything” scenario is the only technically possible option to halve waste in the next six to seven years. No other lever will be sufficient, FIAL said.
Crucially, household waste will need to be reduced by a minimum of 30 per cent for any chance of halving Australia’s food waste.
The “Do everything” scenario compiles 23 core interventions, grouped into three categories:
Behaviour change campaigns: nationwide, targeted at households and businesses;
Policy led interventions: to facilitate industry action, legislative and regulatory change, R&D, infrastructure development, grants; and
Industry led interventions: private sector led, driven by market forces and government support.
Industry led initiatives provide the most cost-effective approach to reducing food waste but only once a supportive policy framework is in place.
Combining policies that support and stimulate the private sector with voluntary, industry led initiatives produces the combination of levers with the best chance of halving food waste by 2030 within a feasible investment range, it found.
Crucially, household waste will need to be reduced by a minimum of 30 per cent for any chance of halving Australia’s food waste.
Some of the key markers on the roadmap to 2030 include:
2023: financial incentives and targets for food donation set
2025: 25 per cent reduction in food waste from primary production; 10 per cent reduction in food waste from manufacturing and distribution; major industry led interventions in place: wide scale implementation of best practice on date labelling; embedding zero food waste targets into sustainability strategies; and widespread audits and measurement across hospitality and food service;
2026: 50 per cent reduction of food waste in retailers; 15 per cent reduction in households;
2028: 50 per cent reduction in food waste in primary production; 50 per cent reduction in hospitality and food service; 25 per cent food waste reduction in households;
2030: zero per cent food waste in retailers; 60 per cent reduction in manufacturing and distribution, primary production, and hospitality and food service; and 30 per cent reduction in households
