Households account for almost half of all food thrown away in Finland, and food waste is among the key sustainability challenges associated with food. Despite political commitments and increasing awareness, food waste has not declined in Finland as expected.

While food waste has traditionally been ascribed to a lack of knowledge and skills among consumers, a doctoral study completed at the University of Helsinki demonstrates that it may in fact arise from consumer choices rather than carelessness or ignorance.

“Household decisions on food consumption and waste do not depend only on the costs of food waste, but also on what it costs to avoid it. Throwing away ingredients that have expired through being forgotten may cost less than spending time on careful meal planning, the development of cooking skills or the use of leftovers. This means that reducing food waste is no simple matter,” says Doctoral Researcher Aino Friman.

If avoiding waste costs more than the waste itself, households have little reason to change their practices. Food waste is lowest where cooking skills are strongest or where reducing waste is easiest. That said, developing those skills requires both time and effort.

The reduction of food waste carries wider economic consequences. As households throw away less food, they also buy less, thereby reducing the value added in agriculture and the food industry. The impact is particularly significant in areas where the economy relies heavily on food production. While the reduction of food waste may increase investment and the gross national product, the additional time spent on cooking is, at the national level, time away from salaried employment. Households may save on food costs, yet lose earnings.

The study further demonstrates that not all means are equal in terms of economic welfare: the improvement of cooking skills increases household welfare, whereas steering methods based on taxation reduce it.

While the study draws on Finnish data, its results are applicable to other EU countries working to implement the food waste targets established under the EU’s Waste Framework Directive.

“Food waste is not merely a question of behaviour, but an economic phenomenon shaped by constraints such as time and money, as well as by incentives and trade-offs. A single solution does not suit everyone, as households have different constraints. Information and education alone are not enough. We also need structural solutions and support that take regional differences into account,” says Friman.