Feeding Futures, Not Landfills: International Day of Zero Waste

According to a recent United Nations Food Index Report, approximately 1.05 billion tonnes of edible food is thrown away every year. The staggering scale of waste serves as a sobering reminder that, as we celebrate the fourth anniversary of International Day of Zero Waste, this year’s theme of food waste reduction requires coordinated action. Food waste, after all, generates nearly ten per cent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, contributes significantly to biodiversity loss and uses almost one-third of the world’s viable agricultural land.

To advance Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 11 and 12 and move towards a circular, zero waste future, change will need to occur on three fronts: business practices, government policy and, most importantly, consumer behaviour.

Understanding the sources and impact of food waste

Nearly 40 per cent of all food waste occurs between farm and table. Grocers and food retail services contribute significantly to that percentage, often through inventory mismanagement and pressure to maintain strict cosmetic standards for produce. Canada’s largest food rescue organization, Second Harvest, notes that only foods with shelf lives of 90 days or less require best before dates (BBDs), yet such labels appear on nearly every food product. In Canada alone, the misuse and misunderstanding of BBDs accounts for 23 per cent of avoidable food waste from processor to purchase.

This issue is compounded by the absence of a standardized, consumer-facing framework that clearly distinguishes between food quality indicators and food safety risks. This gap reflects a broader lack of coordinated policy attention to post-harvest systems. Globally, less than five per cent of agricultural research funding is allocated to post-harvest loss and waste, despite its potential for high returns. The scarcity of reliable and comparable data makes it difficult to establish accurate baselines, evaluate progress and develop effective mitigation strategies on a broad scale.

Consumer behaviour is equally consequential. The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that 60 per cent of global food waste occurs at the household level. In Canada, the average household discards nearly 140 kilograms of edible food per year, much of it due to overplanning. On average, Canadians purchase and prepare more food than needed, leading to disposal practices that are, at best, inefficient and, at worst, actively harmful. For example, when leftover food is incorrectly placed into garbage containers, it enters landfills and slowly decomposes to release methane, a gas that is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period.

The combined impact of businesses, government and consumers underscores the need for change. Yet, as history shows, concerns over the scale of food waste and its global impact are hardly new. Despite decades of awareness, the issue persists because responsibility remains diffused across systems.

Lessons from Canada’s food waste past and the need for action

The spoilage of 28 million eggs in 1974, referred to as Canada’s rotten egg scandal, spurred public outcry over bureaucratic inertia and improper storage facilities. The incident exposed weaknesses in government oversight and supply chain management while underscoring the broader ethical implications of waste in a world of persistent food insecurity. It also highlighted a recurring pattern: systemic failures are often only addressed once they reach a point of crisis.

Today, the margin for error is far smaller. In addition to rising greenhouse gases and population growth, space for landfills is increasingly scarce. In Ontario, experts predict that the province will exhaust its current landfill capacity by 2034 unless significant organic and food waste diversion strategies are implemented. Its current practice of exporting 27 per cent of its annual waste to parts of Michigan, New York and Ohio offers little long-term reliability in the face of global trade and regulatory changes. Further, it fails to address the fundamental issue of waste generation or the persistence of reactive planning.

So, what strategies can be implemented to reduce food and organic waste? 

Businesses can play their part by setting measurable reduction goals and advancing circular food systems. Companies such as Flashfood and ReFeed Canada serve as industry exemplars, partnering with distributors to either sell food approaching BBDs at discounted prices or resell excess produce that does not meet aesthetic standards. In the case of ReFeed Canada, any food unsuitable for human consumption is repurposed as livestock feed.

Meanwhile, policymakers must strengthen government-business partnerships, incentivize food preservation and formalize reduction targets. In Ontario, there is clear scope for regulatory action. As reported by the Auditor General in 2021, ministry inspectors do not currently assess the effectiveness of an establishment’s recycling program when determining compliance with Source Separation Regulations, including levels of food waste contamination in collected recycling streams. Expanding these requirements to explicitly include organic waste would improve oversight and increase food waste diversion rates across the province.

The simplest and most effective change, however, begins in the household.

As consumers, it is imperative we educate ourselves on efficient food waste management practices. If we are to push towards zero hunger (SDG 2), create sustainable communities (SDG 11) and promote responsible consumption (SDG 12), we need to recognize the intrinsic value of food and adopt practical waste reduction strategies. These include mindful meal planning, repurposing leftovers and composting unavoidable food waste such as scraps, peels and cores. Even freezing perishable food items or soaking wilted vegetables under cold water for five to ten minutes can extend food life and reduce unnecessary disposal.

When practiced daily, small behavioural changes can produce impressive results. In fact, a 2019 research study conducted in London, Ontario, found that single-family households that improved planning, purchasing and storing of food reduced avoidable and unavoidable food waste by 30 and 32 per cent, respectively, over a two-week period.

As we mark International Day of Zero Waste, innovation and policy will drive progress toward SDGs 2, 11 and 12, but real change depends on individual action. Reducing food waste starts with consistent, everyday decisions that collectively shape a more sustainable future.

Edited by Aleksandar Cimeša

Image credit: Thomas Le