Amidst the backdrop of widespread hunger and food insecurity, over 1 billion meals are squandered daily, while 783 million individuals grapple with hunger worldwide, said the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). In its UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024, developed in collaboration with WRAP, the UNEP unveils stark realities.

UNDERSTANDING THE SCOPE OF FOOD WASTE

In 2022, 1.05 billion tonnes of food waste were generated globally, equivalent to 132 kilograms per capita and nearly one-fifth of all available food. Notably, 60 per cent of food waste occurs at the household level, underscoring the need for behavioural shifts and systemic interventions.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROGRESS

Despite advancements in data infrastructure, many countries, particularly low- and middle-income nations, lack robust systems for monitoring progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 of halving food waste by 2030. The report advocates for enhanced data collection and dissemination of best practices to drive change.

THE GLOBAL IMPACT OF FOOD WASTE

Beyond its humanitarian implications, food waste exacts a heavy toll on the environment and economy. Generating 8-10 per cent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions and consuming a third of the world’s agricultural land, food waste poses a formidable challenge to sustainability and economic prosperity.

THE ROLE OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS (PPPS)

To catalyze systemic change, the report emphasizes the importance of PPPs in addressing food waste. By fostering collaboration between public, private, and non-governmental entities, PPPs can drive innovation, scale solutions, and deliver tangible reductions in food waste from farm to fork.

URGENCY OF ACTION AND CALL TO ARMS

As nations grapple with the repercussions of food waste, the report underscores the urgency of collective action. By integrating food waste reduction into national climate plans and fostering PPPs, countries can accelerate progress toward a more sustainable and equitable future.

Towards a Sustainable Food Future

In the face of mounting challenges, concerted efforts are needed to tackle food waste and safeguard global food security. Through collaboration, innovation, and strategic investments, stakeholders can pave the way for a more resilient and sustainable food system, ensuring that food nourishes people, not landfills.

EIGHT WAYS TO EMBRACE A ZERO WASTE APPROACH

The UNEP has come forward with eight ways to tackle the situation.

• Combat food waste; Municipalities can promote urban agriculture and use food waste in animal husbandry, farming, green-space maintenance and more. They can also fund food waste composting schemes, segregate food waste at source and ban food from dumpsites. Meanwhile, consumers can buy only what they need, embrace less appealing but perfectly edible fruits and vegetables, store food more wisely, use up leftovers, compost food scraps instead of throwing them away, and donate food before it goes bad, something made easier by a bevy of apps. Recovery is already on the menu in some places. In Vallès Occidental, Spain, municipalities are redistributing surplus healthy food to the marginalized. Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the non-profit organization No Hunger Food Bank works with the Adeta indigenous community to reduce post-harvest losses by recycling cassava peels into animal feed. 
• Take on textile waste; Less than 1 per cent of the material used to produce clothing is recycled into new items, resulting in over US$100 billion in annual material value loss. The textiles industry also uses the equivalent of 86 million Olympic-sized swimming pools of water every year. To counter that, the fashion industry needs to become more circular. Brands and retailers can offer more circular business models and products that last longer and can be remade, governments can provide infrastructure for collecting and sorting used textiles, communicators—including influencers and brand managers—can shift fashion’s marketing narrative, and consumers can assess if their clothing purchases are necessary. 

“Zero waste makes sense on every level,” says Michal Mlynár, UN-Habitat Acting Executive Director. “By retaining materials within the economy and enhancing waste management practices, we bring benefits to our economies, our societies, our planet and ourselves.” 

• Avoid electronic waste; Electronics, from computers to phones, are clogging dumpsites around the world as manufacturers continually encourage consumers to purchase brand-new devices.  Through robust policymaking, governments can encourage consumers to keep their products for longer while pushing manufacturers to offer repair services, a change that would bring a host of economic benefits. They can also implement extended producer responsibility, a policy that can ensure producers of material goods are responsible for the management and treatment of waste. This can keep raw   materials and goods in the economic cycle and inspire consumer waste prevention, eco-design, and optimization of waste collection. 

“As the world drowns in waste, humanity must act,” says Sheila Aggarwal-Khan, Director of UNEP’s Industry and Economy Division. “We have the solutions to solve the waste pollution crisis. We just need commitment, collaboration and investment from governments, businesses and individuals to implement them.”  

• Reduce resource use in products; Raw material use has more than tripled over the last 50 years, driving the destruction of natural spaces and fuelling the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.  Producers can follow nationally determined eco-design standards to reduce energy and resource use while minimizing hazardous chemicals in production. These standards also ensure products are durable, repairable and recyclable while use.  This should be part of a larger effort to design products through what is known as the lifecycle approach. This entails reducing resource use and emissions to the environment throughout all stages of a product’s life, from production to recycling.  
• Crack down on plastic pollution; Plastics are commonly used in electronics, textiles and single-use products. Some 85 per cent of single-use plastic bottles, containers and packaging end up in landfills or are mismanaged. Because plastic does not biodegrade, it contributes to major health impacts as micro plastics infiltrate food and water sources.  
• In addition to phasing out single-use plastics and improving waste management, establishing a global monitoring and reporting system can help end plastic pollution.  
• Take on hazardous waste; Chemicals are prevalent in daily life – electronics can contain mercury, cosmetics may have lead and cleaning supplies often have persistent organic pollutants. Chemical and hazardous waste require specialized treatment and disposal, yet some governments fail to meet standards set in the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) conventions. Hazardous chemicals and waste cross borders, unauthorized or even illegally.  Governments can commit to multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), like the BRS conventions, which institutionalize intergovernmental and cross-sectoral cooperation through binding targets and action plans.  Citizens can educate themselves about substances and waste types that are restricted or banned under the MEAs and demand that governments and industries remove them from the global market. 
• Rethink how cities are designed and managed; By 2050, 68 per cent of the world is expected to live in cities. Investing in energy-efficient buildings leads to long-term reductions in construction and demolition, which generate significant amounts of waste and account for 37 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.  UN-Habitat’s Waste Wise Cities and African Clean Cities Platform provide data and monitoring, knowledge, advocacy and bankable project development to shift cities towards zero waste. Many mayors, like 2023 UN Champion of the Earth Josefina Belmonte of Quezon City, Philippines, are leading initiatives to crack down on waste, including from food and plastics. 
• Bolster waste management through investment and training; Globally, around 25 per cent of waste is left uncollected, while 39 per cent is not managed in controlled facilities. Global waste management incurs a total net cost of US$361 billion annually. By ending uncontrolled disposal, reducing waste generation, and increasing recycling, governments can generate an annual net gain of US$108.1 billion by 2050.