Composition Analyses of Food Waste - the Influence of Food Packaging

One obvious possibility for obtaining data on food waste is its separation in the context of waste composition analyses. In the sorting process, food waste components are usually separated out in their packaging because their accurate separation is often hardly possible and the packaging provides important additional information as for example about the life cycle stage of the food (e.g. whole unopened package, part consumed). This paper investigates which proportion of food packaging is included in the food waste category and if it is admissible to consider it negligible.
Data were derived in a composition analysis in a region with 125,000 inhabitants, by using a stratified sample (urban and rural area) of residual waste from private households. Each sample unit comprised the contents of one residual waste container with a sample volume of 120 or 240 litres or a subsample of 240 litres from a larger container. 137 samples representing 2,443 kg of waste were analysed.
The sorting process was conducted in two steps without prior screening. After having separated a sample into 10 waste categories, the category avoidable food waste which comprised food waste and leftovers, was analysed in detail. From each product a photo was taken, the product was weighed and relevant information was entered into a spreadsheet. A total of 2,262 food products could be identified, from which 44 % were without packaging. Depending on the availability of data, the mass of food packaging was either determined by weighing (for 19 % of the products) or calculated from information imprinted on the packaging (original mass and quantity) and the current filling level estimated at the sorting process (18 %) or estimated by taking the mass of the packaging of similar products (19 %).

 

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