Around 129 kilograms (kg) of food waste was generated per person in the EU in 2024, according to figures from the EU’s statistics agency Eurostat.
In total, the EU generated some 57.9 million tonnes of food waste, including both edible and inedible parts, indicating a slight increase of 0.7% compared with 2023 (57.5 million tonnes).
The data shows that household waste accounted for more than half of all food waste (53%), amounting to 69 kg per person, and another 12% was generated by restaurants and food services (15 kg per inhabitant). The remaining 35% was generated at earlier stages of the food supply chain: 19% was generated by the manufacture of food products and beverages (25 kg per inhabitant), and 8% each by primary production and retail and other distribution of food (10 kg per inhabitant each).
