The aim of this report is twofold. Firstly, it illustrates the latest refinements applied to a food waste model based on material flow analysis, which performs yearly estimations of food waste generated by food category and stage of the food supply chain. Since 2019, the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) has developed this harmonized model to estimate food waste generation as a tool to assess data reported by MSs on food waste generation. Earlier versions of the model are presented in De Laurentiis et al. (2021) and De Laurentiis et al. (2023). The refinement presented in this report involved updating underlying data sources used to estimate food losses at primary production and food waste across the supply chain, refining the modelling of certain food groups at manufacturing, distribution and consumption stages, and adding a new product (i.e. sugarcane) to the model. The resulting model estimated for year 2021 a generation of 73 million tonnes of solid food waste (fresh mass) across the food supply chain at EU level. Secondly, the report aims to present a methodology to estimate the generation of packaging waste linked to food and beverages consumption. The methodology is based on the use of Euromonitor International’s Packaging industry research, which provides annually updated information on consumer product sales by their packaging (differentiated by typology, size, and material) including food and beverage products. The total packaging materials associated to the retail sales of 27 food and beverage product categories, in 19 Member States (MSs) between 2008 and 2022 are estimated. The developed methodology will be used to support MSs in the mandatory reporting of packaging waste quantities, and will be used to benchmark the quantities reported, in the context of the monitoring of the attainment of the recycling targets set out in the Packaging Directive (EU 2018/825).
Authors
Joint Research Centre, European Commission, De Laurentiis, Valeria, Biganzoli, Fabrizio, Valenzano, Annarita, Serenella, Sala
- Catalogue number
- KJ-NA-32-023-EN-N
- Citation
- European Commission: Joint Research Centre, De Laurentiis, V., Biganzoli, F., Valenzano, A. and Serenella, S., Estimating food waste generated and packaging placed on the market at national level – Food waste model updates version 3.0 , Publications Office of the European Union, 2024, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/21595
- DOI
- https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/21595
- ISBN
- 978-92-68-20061-2
- ISSN
- 1831-9424
- Pages
- 62
- Published in
- Belgium
- Themes
- Environment policy and protection of the environment , Agro-industry
Table of Contents
- Contents 3
- Abstract 5
- Acknowledgements 6
- 1 Introduction 7
- 1.1 Food waste 7
- 1.2 Packaging 12
- 2 Modelling food waste methodology and results 13
- 2.1 Update of country-specific food waste coefficients 16
- 2.2 Update of country-specific food loss coefficients 20
- 2.3 Inclusion of additional products 22
- 2.4 Modelling improvements based on market sales data 23
- 2.5 Additional modelling improvements 30
- 2.6 Food waste estimates 32
- 3 Modelling of food packaging methodology and results 40
- 3.1 Extraction of packaging sales data 40
- 3.2 Collection of packaging unitary mass values 43
- 3.3 Estimation of packaging materials linked to food consumption 45
- 3.4 Calculating coefficients to estimate packaging quantities linked to food and 46
- 3.5 Estimated packaging amounts 47
- 4 Conclusions 52
- References 53
- Agriculture Switzerland 12 53
- Transportation Research Procedia 67 53
- Chemical Engineering Transactions 94 53
- Waste Management 143 53
- Sustainability Science 17 54
- Waste Management 170 54
- Journal of Cleaner Production 417 54
- Agriculture Switzerland 12 54
- Sustainable Production and Consumption 34 54
- Journal of Environmental Management 307 54
- Agriculture Switzerland 13 54
- Theory and Practice of Meat Processing 55
- Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 7 55
- Frontiers in Sustainable Food System 55
- List of abbreviations and definitions 56
- List of figures 58
- List of tables 59
- Annexes 60
- Getting in touch with the EU 61
- Finding information about the EU 61
- The Joint Research Centre JRC provides independent evidence-based knowledge and science supporting EU policies to positively impact society 62
