Accounting for food waste: comparative analysis within the UK

Meeting UK targets for waste reduction will require careful planning and informed investment in infrastructure. An essential prerequisite for both is the availability of robust waste data. This paper compares four methods for estimating food waste in Hampshire, two for business waste and two for household waste. First, household food waste is estimated from food expenditure data using an expenditure data approach. This is compared against household waste collection data. Next, business waste is estimated by applying data published by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to the business profile of the hospitality sector in Hampshire. These results are compared with those from the application of a different survey approach to the same business profile. The research illustrates significant problems in achieving consistent and reliable data, especially for business. It was found that some published data are very likely to underestimate food waste in the hospitality sector due to the amount of waste classified in miscellaneous categories such as mixed or general waste. The findings could apply to other sectors. The paper discusses the implications of these findings, highlighting in particular an urgent need for the release and publication of current commercial and industrial waste data, as well as more robust sector-specific surveys and consistent accounting frameworks.