The Scale of Food Waste in Europe

Each person in the European Union generated an average of 131 kilograms of food waste in 2021, according to estimates by the European statistics office Eurostat. This is based on data from the 27 member states.

Total food waste in the EU amounted to over 58 million tons in 2021. Private households made up 54 percent of this, with more than 31 million tons of "fresh mass" generated by the category that year. The second largest waste sector (21 percent) was the manufacturing of food products and beverages, while the remaining share came from primary production (5 million tons, 9 percent share of the total), restaurants and food services (over 5 million tons, 9 percent share of the total) and retail and other food distributors (just over 4 million tons, 7 percent share).

As the following chart shows, Cyprus had the highest amount of food waste per capita, at around 400 kg. However, Belgium, Denmark, Greece and Portugal are also at the top end of the scale. By contrast, Sweden, Croatia and Slovenia had a far lower waste output per person.

In addition to leftover food, food waste also includes non-edible by-products such as nut and fruit shells, stalks and leaves, coffee grounds and bones.