Edible food waste from Norwegian households—Detailed food waste composition analysis among households in two different regions in Norway

• Published in: Resources, conservation and recycling conservation and recycling, 2016-05, Vol.109, p.146-154
• Main Authors: Hanssen, Ole Jørgen, Syversen, Frode, Stø, Eivind
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bakery products; Edible; Edible food waste; Foods; Household types; Households; National statistics; Samples; Statistical analysis; Statistical methods; Waste composition analyses; Wastes
• ISSN: 0921-3449; 1879-0658
• DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.03.010

•Detailed waste composition analyses have been carried out for 220 households in two regions in Norway in 2011; one urban area and one rural area.•Each household generated in average 8.86kg total waste per week, of which 3.76kg was food waste, 2.17kg edible food waste and 0.60kg edible food waste in original packaging.•Fresh bread, fresh fruits and vegetables and left-overs from dinner meals were the most important food types in the waste bins.•There was significant higher amounts of edible food waste from the urban region than from the rural area.•No significant differences could be identified between residence types and age groups, due to big variations between the samples and small sample sizes.•Total amount of edible food waste generated per capita in Norway was estimated to 46.3kg based in the results. The main purpose of the study was to get detailed data on amounts and composition of edible food waste from Norwegian households, based on detailed waste composition analyses from two municipalities/regions in Norway. The importance of age, number of persons and residence type of each household for the amount of waste was studied statistically. Residual waste from 220 households in Fredrikstad and Hallingdal was sorted and weighted specifically for each household, and analyzed for total waste, total food waste, edible food waste, food in original packaging and six types of food. The study showed that each household generated 8.86kg total waste per week, of which 3.76kg was food waste, 2.17kg edible food waste and 0.60kg edible food waste in original packaging. Fresh bakery products (mainly bread) constituted 27% of the edible food waste, fruits and vegetables 24%, left-overs of prepared food 22%, meat and fish 8%, dairy products 6% and other types of food 22%. There were significantly higher amounts of waste from the city of Fredrikstad than from the rural area of Hallingdal regarding total waste, food waste and edible waste, as well as fresh bakery products. In Fredrikstad city, no significant differences could be identified between different geographic areas, residence types or age groups, mostly due to variations between the samples and small sample sizes. Based in results from this study and a survey of more than 50 conventional waste composition analyses from Norwegian municipalities, the amount of edible food waste per capita in Norway was estimated as about 46.3kg/year.