Food Waste in Hospitality

Food Waste in Hospitality: What the Numbers Tell Us and What Operators Can Do About It 

Published by Restaurant & Catering Australia

Australia wastes around 7.6 million tonnes of food every year. That costs the economy an estimated $36 billion and generates 17.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions annually. To put that in perspective, it is enough food to fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground ten times over, and 70% of it was still perfectly edible when it was thrown away.

With Stop Food Waste Day on 29 April, it is a good time for hospitality operators to take stock of where waste occurs in their businesses and what practical steps can make a real difference.

The hospitality sector accounts for 16% of Australia's total food waste, or roughly 1.2 million tonnes each year. For an industry where the most common profit margin sits between 5% and 10%, that is a cost most businesses simply can not afford to absorb.

Where food waste happens in hospitality

Research from End Food Waste Australia shows that food waste in hospitality occurs at multiple points: spoilage before preparation, overproduction during service, and what comes back on the plate. International studies consistently find the catering sector wastes around 20% of the food it serves. In cafes, food waste makes up more than 60% of what goes into the bin.

The causes are familiar to anyone running a venue. Unpredictable customer demand makes forecasting difficult. Portion sizes are hard to get right across a diverse menu. Storage and stock rotation practices vary, and seasonal produce availability does not always align with what is on the menu.

None of this is news to operators. What is changing is the recognition that tackling waste is not just an environmental issue. It is a financial one.

The business case is clear

Preventing food waste has a cost-benefit ratio of more than 6:1, and 80% of catering sites that implement food waste reduction measures recover their costs within two years.

The R&CA 2025 Industry Benchmarking Report found that more than 65% of hospitality operators are actively implementing sustainability initiatives. Importantly, the primary driver is not regulatory compliance or customer pressure. It is a cost reduction. Operators are looking for practical ways to manage their expenses, and reducing waste is one of the most effective levers available.

This aligns with the broader financial picture the benchmarking data paints. More than 70% of operators rated reduced costs for produce, electricity and gas as the single most useful change to improve business performance. When your highest variable costs are ingredients and energy, reducing food waste is one of the most direct ways to protect your bottom line.

What operators are doing that works

Across the sector, businesses are taking practical steps that do not require major capital investment.

**Menu engineering and portion control.** Reviewing which dishes generate the most plate waste and adjusting portion sizes or menu structure accordingly. Some operators are moving to smaller share plates or modular menus that allow guests to add rather than leave food behind.

**Improved stock management.** Better forecasting based on booking data, weather patterns and historic covers. Using first-in, first-out rotation and training kitchen staff to check stock before placing orders, rather than defaulting to standing orders.

**Whole ingredient cooking.** Using offcuts, trimmings and typically discarded parts of produce in stocks, sauces, ferments and staff meals. This approach reduces waste and lowers purchasing costs simultaneously.

**Waste tracking.** Recording what is being thrown away, when and why. Even a basic waste diary kept over two weeks can reveal patterns that inform real changes to ordering, prep and menu design.

**Staff training and culture.** The R&CA benchmarking report noted that nearly 60% of hospitality businesses do not have a structured or formal staff training program. Building food waste awareness into onboarding and daily kitchen routines costs very little and can have an immediate impact.

The national target and what it means for the sector

The Australian Government has committed to halving food waste by 2030 through the National Food Waste Strategy, delivered by End Food Waste Australia. Progress is being made. Food waste to landfill has decreased from 127 kilograms per capita in 2016/17 to 102 kilograms per capita in 2022/23, a reduction of almost 20%.

End Food Waste Australia has released Sector Action Plans specifically for cafes and catering businesses, providing practical guides on how to build waste reduction into daily operations. These are free resources designed for the sector, by the sector.

For hospitality businesses, expectations are growing. Research shows 91% of Australian consumers prefer to buy from organisations that are actively taking steps to reduce waste.

Start somewhere

Stop Food Waste Day on 29 April is a useful prompt, but the real value is in what happens every other day. The operators already making progress are not doing anything revolutionary. They are paying attention to what comes in, what goes out, and what ends up in the bin, and making small, consistent changes based on what they find.

If you have not started tracking your waste, that is the first step. If you are already tracking, identify the biggest losses and test one change this month. The data is clear: reducing waste is good for the environment and good for the business.

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**Resources**

- [End Food Waste Australia Sector Action Plans](https://endfoodwaste.com.au)
- [R&CA 2025 Industry Benchmarking Report](https://www.rca.asn.au/shop)
- [Stop Food Waste Day — 29 April 2026](https://www.stopfoodwasteday.com)