A Statistical Comparative Household Food Waste Generation Analysis

Katerina Synani (), Panagiotis Andreopoulos (), Kleomenis Kalogeropoulos (), Konstantinos Abeliotis () and Katia Lasaridi ()
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Katerina Synani: Harokopio University of Athens, Department of Geography
Panagiotis Andreopoulos: Harokopio University of Athens, Department of Geography
Kleomenis Kalogeropoulos: University of West Attica, Department of Surveying and Geoinformatics Engineering
Konstantinos Abeliotis: Harokopio University of Athens, Department of Economics and Sustainable Development
Katia Lasaridi: Harokopio University of Athens, Department of Geography

Chapter Chapter 21 in Quantitative Methods and Data Analysis in Applied Demography - Volume 2, 2025, pp 269-283 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract The increasing food wastage and reflection on the consequences entailed are points of interest for the academic community and beyond. To document the issue, several studies focus on measuring quantities, as it is not possible to take prevention practices for something that has not been measured. From an initial review of the literature, it is understood that knowledge of the total quantity of food waste is insufficient and requires a more detailed understanding of the quantities by food waste stream. The present study aims at the interregional comparison of data obtained from previous academic studies. The main objective was to investigate whether Greece, as a Mediterranean country, has a different composition of food waste compared to other indicatively selected countries, as well as to the average European composition. Thus, specific surveys were selected, providing quantitative data on particular food waste flows at the household level. More specifically, they concern data for three European countries: Greece, the Netherlands, Italy, and the European Union as a whole. Statistical tools (Pareto analysis and t-test) compare both countries and the average values per category of food waste for the whole of the European Union. The results are presented in the form of diagrams to make it easy to conclude. More specifically, it seems that people’s eating habits also affect the type of waste produced, as expected. For Greece, the main categories of food waste are vegetables and fruits; for the Netherlands, the bakery products and vegetables & potatoes; for Italy, vegetables & potatoes and milk & cheese/dairy products. This information can be a crucial tool both locally and collectively to take appropriate measures to mitigate food waste generation.

Keywords: Food waste; Comparison; Data analysis; European Countries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:ssdmcp:978-3-031-82279-7_21

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-82279-7_21

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