Australia generates 7.65 million tonnes of annual food waste. The estimated costs to economy of food wasted is $36.6 billion, of which $19.3 billion comes from households – costing each Australian household an estimated $2,000-$2,500 per year (FIAL, 2021). The retail sector alone contributes over 527 kilotonnes of food waste each year, an alarming figure given that 70% of this food is still edible at the point of disposal. This issue is closely linked to the rising food insecurity crisis, which has been further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting increase in living costs. Over the past year, more than 2 million Australian households have experienced severe food insecurity (Foodbank, 2022).

Food waste is also a significant contributor to climate change, accounting for approximately 3% of annual greenhouse gas emissions in Australia (FIAL, 2021). Food waste that ends up in Australia’s landfills generates a methane equivalent to an estimated 6.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. This is compounded by greenhouse emissions (3.3 billion metric tonnes) generated from production, harvesting, transporting and packaging of wasted food. 

A better solution is warranted to facilitate supermarkets in reducing retail food waste through a seamless process. This project seeks to test such a solution, in order to propose how to scale it nationally.