New Zealanders’ Food Waste Bill Continues To Grow Despite Improvements In Household Food Behaviours

The new Rabobank-KiwiHarvest Food Waste Research has found that while New Zealanders are taking positive steps to reduce food waste, the estimated value of food thrown away by Kiwi households continues to increase and is now estimated to total $2.4 billion per year.

The research also found Kiwis estimate they waste 8.6 per cent of their weekly food spend, down from 10.2 per cent in the previous survey in 2019.

Despite this drop, the estimated value of food waste per household rose to $1259 per year (up from $1,121 in 2019) and the total value of food waste across the whole New Zealand population increased to an estimated $2.4 billion per year (from $2 billion previously) due to food price inflation, increased spend on household food and a greater number of households.

Rabobank partnered with KiwiHarvest early last year as part of the bank’s wider commitment to work alongside its rural customers to support sustainable food production and its global vison around global food security. This new research is the next step in that partnership.

With the value of wasted food continuing to grow, Rabobank New Zealand CEO Todd Charteris said it was encouraging to see Kiwis making positive behavioural shifts to address the issue.

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