Household food waste: Hungarians throw away 65.5 kilos per capita – and underestimate this by almost half on average

Two numbers that tell the story together

At first glance, the trend between 2016 and 2021 is positive: avoidable household food waste has decreased significantly. At the same time, the total amount has barely moved, which suggests that the experience (and communication) of “waste” by the public can be strongly distorted by what we classify as waste.

One ​​of the important observations of the study is that many people do not consider the unavoidable fraction (peels, bones, coffee grounds) to be a problem – so if the communication talks about the topic as “waste reduction”, it is easy to side with the consumer: he feels that “I don’t have any waste”, while there is still room for manoeuvre in the avoidable part.

Communication trap: the intention is there, but the picture is unclear

In the research, 77% of those surveyed said that they could further reduce household waste food waste – that is, there is a sense of intention and capacity. At the same time, based on the measurement results, many people do not see the exact magnitude of the problem, nor that the management of the two fractions (avoidable vs. unavoidable) requires completely different logic.

From a trade perspective, this is interesting because consumer education and retail messages work when they “shoot” at the part that the customer feels can be influenced – and that is actually affected by household routines.

What does this mean for retail and brands?

To translate the study’s conclusion: “waste reduction” is not a single message, but two separate product and communication paths.

1) Avoidable waste: here, quantitative decisions are the key
Here everything that is very specifically related to retail operations comes into play:

• quantity purchasing and promotional mechanisms: the “buy more, get better” logic easily shifts the cart towards overbuying – especially in rapidly deteriorating categories;

• portioning and packaging: if the household actually consumes in smaller portions, the oversized packaging in the refrigerator becomes a “risk stock”;

• storage and usage suggestions: not as an educational campaign, but as category and brand-specific, very specific tips (e.g. what to freeze, what to use within 24 hours);

• management of near-expiry offers: late discounts often no longer provide real consumer value because the usage window is too narrow.

2) Inevitable fraction: here the question is not “don’t produce”, but “what to do with it”
If the consumer does not treat this as waste from the start, then instead of the reduction narrative a:

• selection,

• recycling/composting,

• solutions that fit into the kitchen routine
  can give you a handle. This makes the topic not “guilt” but practical – which is typically a better entry point.