Christopher Malefors, Amanda Sjölund, Niina Sundin
{"title":"Food waste quantities, carbon footprint and nutrient loss in university students' households in Sweden","authors":"Christopher Malefors, Amanda Sjölund, Niina Sundin","doi":"10.1016/j.spc.2025.01.017","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Food waste in households poses a significant barrier to achieving sustainable food systems. This study examines food waste generated by university student households in Sweden, focusing on its weight, carbon footprint, and nutritional impacts. Using kitchen diaries, 109 students quantified their waste by weight over two weeks. On average, 115 g/person/day of food was wasted, with 46 g/person/day classified as avoidable or edible. Avoidable waste generated a carbon footprint of 1.3 kg CO₂e/kg food waste and contained key nutrients, such as dietary fiber (4.7 g/MJ) and folate (56 μg/MJ). Notably, the top 10 % of waste items accounted for 47 % of total waste and 62 % of the carbon footprint. Reducing waste from this fraction by half could achieve a 23.7 % reduction in total waste. When scaled to the national level, food waste from university students in Sweden is estimated to generate 9950 tonnes of CO₂e annually. The findings highlight the importance of targeting both high‑carbon-impact and nutrient-rich waste to align with environmental and public health objectives. Educational interventions and automated waste tracking are recommended to foster sustainable consumption patterns.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48619,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Production and Consumption","volume":"54 ","pages":"Pages 441-451"},"PeriodicalIF":9.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Sustainable Production and Consumption","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235255092500017X","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/30 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Food waste in households poses a significant barrier to achieving sustainable food systems. This study examines food waste generated by university student households in Sweden, focusing on its weight, carbon footprint, and nutritional impacts. Using kitchen diaries, 109 students quantified their waste by weight over two weeks. On average, 115 g/person/day of food was wasted, with 46 g/person/day classified as avoidable or edible. Avoidable waste generated a carbon footprint of 1.3 kg CO₂e/kg food waste and contained key nutrients, such as dietary fiber (4.7 g/MJ) and folate (56 μg/MJ). Notably, the top 10 % of waste items accounted for 47 % of total waste and 62 % of the carbon footprint. Reducing waste from this fraction by half could achieve a 23.7 % reduction in total waste. When scaled to the national level, food waste from university students in Sweden is estimated to generate 9950 tonnes of CO₂e annually. The findings highlight the importance of targeting both high‑carbon-impact and nutrient-rich waste to align with environmental and public health objectives. Educational interventions and automated waste tracking are recommended to foster sustainable consumption patterns.
期刊介绍：
Sustainable production and consumption refers to the production and utilization of goods and services in a way that benefits society, is economically viable, and has minimal environmental impact throughout its entire lifespan. Our journal is dedicated to publishing top-notch interdisciplinary research and practical studies in this emerging field. We take a distinctive approach by examining the interplay between technology, consumption patterns, and policy to identify sustainable solutions for both production and consumption systems.
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