In the EU, an estimated 88 million tons of food (173kg per capita) are wasted along supply chains each year, leading to detrimental economic, social and environmental consequences.
Cities are crucial loci to effectively reduce food waste, with a growing number of urban actors taking a pro-active stance to tackle the challenge. A study conducted across 40 EU cities puts forward a framework to evaluate initiatives and policies targeting food waste, according to three axes of analysis: the type of policy tool wielded, the area of intervention and actors involved.
The study results also call for integrated action reaching across domains of urban policy, and underscore the need for extensive food waste data collection and tools for evaluation, in order to better guide local policy.
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