The world is facing a growing waste challenge linked to unsustainable production and consumption, with humanity generating up to 2.3 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste each year.
This year’s International Day of Zero Waste focuses on food waste – what we eat, what we waste, and how we can reduce food waste as a pathway to environmental protection, greater economic stability, stronger community resilience and more accessible, efficient food systems.
In 2022, Türkiye, along with 105 other Member States, put forward the UN General Assembly resolution that led to the observance of the International Day of Zero Waste. Jointly facilitated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN-Habitat, the Day has, since 2023, been observed annually on 30 March – aiming to highlight the issue of waste globally and raise awareness of national, subnational, regional and local zero-waste initiatives and their contribution to achieving sustainable development.
While hundreds of millions around the world face hunger, more than one billion tonnes of food are wasted – 19 per cent of all food available to consumers, while 13 per cent is lost post-harvest and before retail. Most food waste happens within households (60 per cent), followed by food service (28 per cent) and retail (12 per cent), with households alone wasting over one billion meals wasted every day.
“In every wasted bite lies the right of someone whose life depends on it. It also holds the echoes of the cries of those suffering from hunger and thirst in war zones. Let us not forget that all of humanity bears the cost of food loss and waste,” said First Lady of Türkiye H.E. Emine Erdoğan in her video message for the International Day of Zero Waste.
“This year’s International Day of Zero Waste spotlights the mounting food waste crisis — and calls on each of us to take action. Consumers can make a big impact with small changes in their shopping and cooking habits. Retailers can optimise their operations and redistribute surplus food. Cities can scale organic waste separation, leverage technological innovations, and strengthen procurement for schools and hospitals. And national governments can drive systemic change by addressing food waste in their climate action and biodiversity plans and forging public-private partnerships,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message for the day.
Food loss and waste generate 8-10 per cent of global greenhouse emissions, nearly five times the emissions from the aviation industry. Food waste alone accounts for up to 14 per cent of global methane emissions, a gas 84 times more potent than CO₂ over 20 years.
“In a time of accelerating climate change, growing deforestation, water scarcity, spreading land degradation and desertification, and rising food prices, we cannot afford to waste precious resources to grow food that is not eaten – or the US$1 trillion per year price tag that food loss and waste costs the global economy,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP. “Reducing food waste makes strong economic sense, delivers real methane cuts, supports food security and helps build a circular, zero-waste, zero-emissions future.”
“Cities that integrate food systems, water services and waste management show what is possible. They recover surplus food, reduce water loss, and turn organic waste into compost or energy, creating circular systems that save money, cut emissions and generate jobs,” said Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-Habitat. “Informal workers, waste pickers and community water managers are at the heart of these solutions. Recognising their contribution strengthens local systems, creates livelihoods and ensures that no one is left behind.”
Food loss and waste cost the world US$1 trillion per year. Preventing food waste reduces the demand for land, including land threatened by deforestation, water resources, and energy needed for food production.
Member States marked this year’s International Day of Zero Waste at a high-level event at UNHQ in New York, with UNEP and UN-Habitat, in partnership with the Republic of Türkiye and the Zero Waste Foundation convening the discussion on breakthroughs, innovative strategies and approaches to zero waste in food value chains.
In addition, UNEP and UN Tourism launched the global initiative Recipe of Change, a joint effort to mobilise tourism businesses, chefs and supply-chain actors to measure, prevent and reduce food waste in hospitality operations. Fourteen companies that represent 56.5 billion USD in annual revenues and 600 million guests annually have joined the initiative, including Accor, ClubMed, Hilton, Iberostar, Meliá, Radisson, TUI Group and Winnow.
In Istanbul, UNEP partnered with UNDP, UN-Habitat and the Zero Waste Foundation on an event focused on showing how households can reduce food waste in their daily lives, with the support from governments and the private sector. In Osaka, Japan, an interactive workshop invited young people to explore food waste not as an individual failure, but as a shared challenge shaped by culture, daily practices, and system design.
Related events also took place in Brasilia, Brazil, Geneva, Switzerland, Nairobi, Kenya, and the Chinese provinces of Hainan and Shandong, among other locations.
In the lead-up to the International Day of Zero Waste, 20 cities worldwide have been named the inaugural 20 Cities Towards Zero Waste, an initiative led by the Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Zero Waste, with support from UN-Habitat and UNEP. The initiative highlights cities demonstrating ambitious and innovative approaches to reducing waste, advancing circular economy solutions, and building more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive urban systems.
A small but growing number of countries are proving that large-scale reductions in food waste are possible with the right policies, partnerships, and measurement systems in place. Japan, for example, had by 2022 achieved a 53 per cent reduction in total food loss and waste compared to 2000 levels, while the United Kingdom has achieved a 22 per cent reduction in food waste since 2007 through strong public-private collaboration and consumer behaviour change initiatives.
However, most countries — including many G20 economies — still lack robust data to track progress towards halving food waste by 2030, highlighting a major gap in global action. Countries that invest in measurement, set clear targets, and enable collaboration can drive rapid progress and lead the global transition to more sustainable food systems.
Through initiatives like the Food Waste Breakthrough – which focuses on action in cities and food businesses, through collaboration on data, policy, capacity building, advocacy and investment – launched at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil in 2025, the world aims to halve food waste by 2030, cut its methane emissions by up to 7 per cent, and build circular, resilient food systems.
About the International Day of Zero Waste
The International Day of Zero Waste, observed for the first time on 30 March 2023 and jointly facilitated by UNEP and UN-Habitat, aims to raise awareness of the importance of zero waste and responsible consumption and production practices and urban waste management contributing to achieving sustainable development. The Day calls on rethinking our practices and for embracing a circular economy, which means reducing resource use and emissions to the environment throughout all stages of products’ life cycles, as a key for addressing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss and pollution, and putting the planet, and humanity, on a path to health and prosperity.
About the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
UNEP is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
About the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
UN-Habitat is the United Nations entity responsible for sustainable urbanisation. It has programmes in over 90 countries that support policymakers and communities to create socially and environmentally sustainable cities and towns. UN-Habitat promotes transformative change in cities through knowledge, policy advice, technical assistance, and collaborative action.
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