Háztartási élelmiszer-hulladékok mennyisége Magyarországon

Food waste is one of the most important sustainability issues in the food chain. According to the UN, 8-10% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to these causes, so the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 requires halving food waste by 2030. The aim of this study is to present an analysis of the amount of household food waste in Hungary, in addition to reviewing the relevant literature and regulatory issues on the topic, to reveal the limitations of individual measurement methodological approaches, and to draw conclusions regarding the feasibility of achieving the EU food waste reduction target. The majority of food waste, 55% in the EU, is generated in households (72 kg/person/year). We have been measuring food waste in Hungary since the launch of the No Waste program in 2016. The Hungarian figure at the end of 2023 is 62 kg/person/year, of which more than 40% (26 kg/person/year) could be prevented. This corresponds to 250 thousand tons of unnecessarily produced biowaste, mostly disposed of in an environmentally harmful way. The wasted food could cover the entire annual food supply of 450 thousand people. Household food waste represents 2.8% of Hungary's total carbon footprint, while the avoidable part is 1.1%. This represents 7% of the carbon footprint of the household sector. The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the soaring food inflation in 2022-2023 are clearly visible in the development of household food waste data. After many years of improvement, the data at the end of 2023 showed a "rebound". The reasons can be found in the post-Covid-19 recovery and in household incomes increasingly offsetting explosive food price inflation (i.e., in the renewed decline in the real value of food). It is also likely that the consumer campaign has already reached consumers who are receptive to the topic, but the involvement of those who are less receptive is progressing slowly (this can also be seen in other countries). The effects of the educational program launched in 2017, covering practical issues of food waste prevention, will also appear later, as expected, since the first children participating in the training are only now becoming adults and independent buyers. Although our country was among the first to launch a national household food waste reduction program, at the current pace it is still unable to achieve the relevant target of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, similar to the reduction target set in the EU's 2024-2025 legislative draft. Some EU member states have proposed an improved indicator based on avoidable food waste, which is realistically achievable.