Unveiling the hidden patterns of household food waste

Sammanfattning

Among the methods commonly used for quantifying food waste in households, there are limitations that affect the reliability of quantification results. To address these, this study used an automated quantification tool to objectively and with high precision quantify food waste in 28 Swedish households for an extended period, reaching a total of 3945 quantification days. The results showed that the average daily waste amounted to 0.159 kg per person. Recorded food waste displayed a large variation between days, weeks and months, suggesting that long-term quantification is necessary for precision. As the results indicated, between 115 and 569 quantification days is necessary to provide an average estimate with a ± 10 % precision. This study presents empirical evidence demonstrating the feasibility and opportunities of automated food waste quantification, emphasizing the importance of extended measurement periods, high-frequency data collection, and minimal user intervention on designing effective waste tracking systems.

Nyckelord

Automated quantification tool; Household food waste; Long-term monitoring; Waste measurement technology

Publicerad i

Current Research in Environmental Sustainability
2025, volym: 9, artikelnummer: 100292

SLU författare

• Sjölund, Amanda

  • Institutionen för energi och teknik, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Malefors, Christopher

  • Institutionen för energi och teknik, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• von Brömssen, Claudia

  • Institutionen för energi och teknik, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Svensson, Erik

  • Institutionen för energi och teknik, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Eriksson, Mattias

  • Institutionen för energi och teknik, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

UKÄ forskningsämne

Livsmedelsvetenskap

Publikationens identifierare

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsust.2025.100292

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/141586