Abstract
Food waste is becoming an important issue in light of population growth and global food security concerns. However, data on food wastage are limited, especially for developing countries. Global estimates suggest that households in developed countries waste more food than those in developing countries, but these estimates are based on assumptions that have not been tested. We therefore set out to present primary data relating to household food waste disposal for South Africa within the sub-Saharan African context. As the Gauteng Province contributes about 45% of the total municipal waste generated in South Africa, the case study area covers two of the large urban metropolitan municipalities in Gauteng, namely Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg, with a combined population of 8.33 million, representing nearly 15% of the South African population. Municipal solid waste characterisation studies using bulk sampling with randomised grab sub-sampling were undertaken over a 6-week period during summer in 2014 (Johannesburg) and 2016 (Ekurhuleni), covering a representative sample of the municipal waste collection routes from households in each of the two surveyed municipalities. The food waste component of the household waste (excluding garden waste) was 3% in Ekurhuleni and 7% in Johannesburg. The results indicate that an average of 0.48 kg (Ekurhuleni) and 0.69 kg (Johannesburg) of food waste (including inedible parts) is disposed of into the municipal bin per household per week in the two municipalities, respectively. This translates into per capita food waste disposal of 8 kg and 12 kg per annum, respectively, in South Africa as compared to the estimated 6–11 kg per annum in sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia. 
 Significance:
 
 Research on food waste in developing countries is limited.
 This study is the first of its kind undertaken in South Africa.
 Food waste research is important to address food security issues.
 This study provides evidence to support Sustainable Development Goal 12.3.
Highlights
Global estimates suggest that the world population will reach 9.6 billion by 2050.1 At current lifestyle patterns, it is estimated that we will need the equivalent of nearly three planets to sustain the world population in 2050.1 Increasing food production to ensure food security will put additional pressure on already constrained natural resources.[1]
The differences in weekly food waste disposal between income groups and municipalities appear to be small and a statistical analysis was done to determine the significance of the differences between high, middle and low income as well as between high and low income
The results indicate that there are no statistically significant differences in the food waste generation, i.e. there is a consistent pattern of differences between municipalities and income levels (Table 3)
Summary
Global estimates suggest that the world population will reach 9.6 billion by 2050.1 At current lifestyle patterns, it is estimated that we will need the equivalent of nearly three planets to sustain the world population in 2050.1 Increasing food production to ensure food security will put additional pressure on already constrained natural resources.[1]. The average annual cost of household food waste in South Africa is ZAR21.7 billion (EUR1.5 billion at an exchange rate of ZAR14.40/EUR1.00)[11]. Annual costs of food waste in Europe are reported as ZAR7 200 million (EUR500 million) in Finland[12], ZAR388.8 billion (EUR27 billion) in Norway[13], ZAR30.96 billion (EUR2.15 billion) in Denmark[14] and ZAR126.7 billion in the UK (GBP10.2 billion at an exchange rate of ZAR12.42/GBP1.00)[15]. Preventing food wastage will save money for households, but will have broader economic, social and environmental benefits.[16] Reducing food waste will address food and water security concerns[17] and contribute to the development of more sustainable food systems[18]
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