Food Waste Statistics 2026: What the Numbers Mean for Your Home
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Last reviewed September 10, 2026. Food-waste numbers are often repeated without their year, geography, or scope. That can make two accurate statistics look contradictory—or turn a useful number into a misleading one. This guide keeps the major figures in their original context and explains what they do and do not measure.
Food waste statistics: the 2026 snapshot
1.05B tonnes
Wasted globally at household, food-service, and retail level in 2022
19%
Of food available to consumers was wasted in those sectors in 2022
$728
Estimated annual cost of wasted food per US consumer
66M tons
Generated in US retail, food service, and residential sectors in 2019
Sources and measurement years: UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024 (global 2022 estimates); US EPA consumer-cost report published April 2025; US EPA material-flow estimates for 2019. “B” means billion and “M” means million. Metric tonnes and US short tons are not the same unit.
Global food waste: the clearest current baseline
The United Nations Environment Programme’s Food Waste Index Report 2024 estimates that households, food-service businesses, and retailers wasted about 1.05 billion metric tonnes of food in 2022. That equals 132 kilograms per person and roughly 19% of the food available to consumers. The estimate includes both edible and inedible parts, so it should not be described as 19% of all edible food being deliberately thrown away.
Households accounted for the largest share of that consumer-level total, followed by food service and retail. This is a global estimate, not a US-only number and not a measure of farm or manufacturing losses.
Moreborn visualization of UNEP’s 2022 estimates. Rounded sector totals sum to 1.052 billion metric tonnes.
Source: UNEP, Food Waste Index Report 2024.
Food loss and food waste are different measures
| Measure | Where it occurs | Latest figure used here | Source year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food loss | After harvest through transport, storage, wholesale, and processing, before retail | 13.3% of food globally | FAO estimate for 2023 |
| Food waste | Retail, food service, and households | 19% of food available to consumers | UNEP estimate for 2022 |
These percentages cover different stages and should not be added as though they share the same denominator. FAO’s latest indicator page estimates that global post-harvest food loss was 13.3% in 2023, compared with 13.0% in the 2015 baseline. FAO says the world has made no apparent progress, while also noting that small changes can fall within model variation.
Source: FAO SDG indicator 12.3.1, Global Food Losses.
Food waste and greenhouse-gas emissions
UNEP and FAO estimate that food loss and waste together generate 8–10% of global greenhouse-gas emissions. “Food loss” generally covers stages before retail, while “food waste” covers retail, food service, and households. The 19% consumer-waste figure and the 8–10% emissions figure measure different things and should never be used interchangeably.
Preventing avoidable waste usually has more climate value than choosing a disposal method after the waste already exists. Planning meals, storing food correctly, using leftovers, and sharing surplus food should come before processing or disposal.
Source: FAO, Food Loss and Food Waste policy series.
How much does food loss and waste cost?
UNEP says food loss and waste costs the global economy more than $1 trillion each year. That is a global economic estimate, not a household grocery bill.
For a consumer-level US figure, the US Environmental Protection Agency estimated in a report published April 2025 that wasted food costs the average US consumer about $728 per year. For a household of four, that is approximately $2,913 per year, or $56 per week. Those figures estimate the retail value of food bought and not eaten; they are not the cost of municipal waste collection.
Source: US EPA, Estimating the Cost of Food Waste to American Consumers.
US disposal data needs a clearly stated boundary
EPA estimated that in 2019 the retail, food-service, and residential sectors generated about 66.2 million US tons of wasted food. About 39.6 million tons, or 59.84%, went to landfills. Controlled combustion received 14.57%; donation accounted for 7.76%; sewer and wastewater treatment received 6%; and composting accounted for 4.99%.
EPA reports an additional 40 million tons from food and beverage manufacturing and processing, but that is a separate supply-chain category. Adding the two without explaining the boundary creates a number that readers cannot compare fairly with household-only or consumer-only estimates.
| 2019 US management pathway | Share of 66.2M tons | Approximate amount |
|---|---|---|
| Landfill | 59.84% | 39.6M US tons |
| Controlled combustion | 14.57% | 9.6M US tons |
| Donation | 7.76% | 5.1M US tons |
| Sewer / wastewater treatment | 6.00% | 4.0M US tons |
| Composting | 4.99% | 3.3M US tons |
| Other measured pathways | 6.84% | 4.5M US tons |
“Other measured pathways” combines animal feed, bio-based materials/biochemical processing, anaerobic digestion, and land application. Percentages use EPA’s published figures; displayed tonnage is rounded.
Source: US EPA, Food: Material-Specific Data.
What US households do with wasted food
EPA estimates that in 2019 about 96% of household wasted food went to landfills, combustion facilities, or down the drain; the remainder was composted. This household-only estimate has a different boundary from the 66.2-million-ton retail, food-service, and residential total above.
Source: US EPA, Preventing Wasted Food at Home.
Why 2022 and 2019 figures appear in a 2026 guide
“2026 food waste statistics” means the most current authoritative figures available and reviewed in 2026; it does not mean every underlying measurement was collected in 2026. Large global and national datasets take time to collect, harmonize, publish, and revise.
- 2022: measurement year for UNEP’s latest global consumer-level waste estimate.
- 2023: measurement year for FAO’s latest global Food Loss Index estimate.
- 2019: measurement year for EPA’s detailed US wasted-food management flows.
- 2025: publication year of EPA’s US consumer-cost estimate.
- September 10, 2026: date this page and its linked sources were reviewed.
UNEP also cautions against treating its 2019 and 2022 global estimates as a clean trend line: improved country coverage and methods account for some of the difference. A later report number is not automatically proof that waste rose by the same amount.
What should happen before composting or disposal?
EPA’s Wasted Food Scale puts prevention, donation, and upcycling among the most preferred pathways. Landfilling, incineration, and sending food down the drain are among the least preferred. Composting recovers nutrients and organic matter, but it comes after preventing edible food from being wasted.
- Prevent: buy, prepare, and serve closer to what will be eaten.
- Donate or share: redirect wholesome surplus when food-safety rules allow.
- Upcycle: turn suitable edible parts into another food.
- Recover unavoidable scraps: use animal feed, anaerobic digestion, or composting where appropriate and permitted.
- Avoid disposal where possible: landfill, incineration, and drain disposal recover less value.
Source: US EPA, Wasted Food Scale.
Five practical ways to reduce household food waste
- Shop from a plan. Check the refrigerator and freezer before making a list, then buy for meals you are likely to cook.
- Use a first-in, first-out shelf. Put foods that need attention at eye level and label leftovers with a date.
- Freeze earlier. Freeze bread, cooked grains, sauces, and suitable produce before they are past their best.
- Serve smaller portions first. People can return for seconds; food left in the serving dish is easier to store safely.
- Choose an appropriate path for unavoidable scraps. Municipal organics collection, a managed compost system, or a food recycler may help, depending on local options and the material.
For a room-by-room action plan, see how to reduce food waste at home. If you are considering a countertop appliance, first read what an electric food recycler does—and what it does not do. Then use the electric-composter buying guide to compare capacity, workflow, output, and ongoing maintenance.
What an electric food recycler changes
An appliance can reduce the volume and moisture of selected food scraps, which may make short-term kitchen storage and handling easier. It does not undo the resources used to produce uneaten food, and its output should not automatically be called mature compost.
Dry-and-grind machines produce reduced food residue that may need further composting or an approved organics destination. Microbial systems support biological breakdown, but their harvested output may still require curing, mixing, or another active-compost step. In either case, prevention remains higher-value than processing food that could have been eaten.
Frequently asked questions
How much food is wasted globally each year?
UNEP’s latest global consumer-level estimate is 1.05 billion metric tonnes in 2022 across households, food service, and retail. It includes edible and inedible parts and excludes pre-retail food loss.
What percentage of food is wasted?
UNEP estimates that 19% of food available to consumers was wasted at household, food-service, and retail level in 2022. FAO separately estimates that 13.3% was lost after harvest and before retail in 2023. The figures describe different supply-chain stages.
How much food does the average US consumer waste in dollars?
EPA’s April 2025 report estimates $728 per person per year. Its household-of-four illustration is $2,913 annually, or about $56 per week.
What is the most effective way to reduce food waste?
Prevent edible food from becoming waste. Meal planning, correct storage, using leftovers, and donating safe surplus preserve more of the food’s value than managing it after disposal.
Method and limitations
This page prioritizes UNEP, FAO, and US EPA sources. It keeps the agency’s measurement year, geography, sector boundary, and unit attached to each headline number. Global metric tonnes are not converted into US short tons, and modelled estimates are not presented as precise counts.
Figures from different datasets should not be combined unless their definitions and denominators match. The page will be reviewed when UNEP publishes a successor to the Food Waste Index Report 2024, FAO updates indicator 12.3.1, or EPA releases newer comparable US material-flow data.
The takeaway
The most useful 2026 baseline is straightforward: 1.05 billion metric tonnes of consumer-level food waste in 2022; 19% of food available to consumers; 8–10% of global greenhouse-gas emissions from food loss and waste; $728 in annual wasted-food cost per US consumer; and 66.2 million US tons generated across US retail, food service, and residential sectors in 2019. Keep the scope attached to every number, prioritize prevention, and treat processing equipment as one downstream tool—not as a substitute for eating the food you buy.
