Food Waste in Denmark · An Investigation · April 2026
I once saw a perfectly good head of broccoli in the madaffald bin in my dorm's kitchen. Whole, unspoiled, and untouched. This was not the first time I had seen edible food end up in the trash bin.
Denmark, the country that prides itself on being one of the greenest and most sustainable in the world, is competing for the title of "the EU country with the most food waste" and comes second. Weirdly, Denmark sits almost at the top of this list, alongside countries such as Greece and Cyprus, and far from the other Nordics.
The broccoli in the bin begins to look less like an exception and more like a sign of a deeper contradiction: how does a country known for sustainability end up wasting so much food?
Food waste is not just an ethical problem; it damages the environment through CO₂ emissions. According to a BBC article by Prathap Nair, in a year, the CO₂ emissions from European food waste, as it decomposes in the landfills, are equivalent to the totality of fossil fuel emissions of Spain. The UN aims to halve per capita global food waste by 2030.
Challenges in reducing food waste levels across Europe persist. Food waste occurs at all stages of the supply chain, from production and retail to consumption. On the household level, by producing approximately 166 kilograms of food waste per household annually, Danes contribute 33.75% of the total food waste in the country.
To understand whether this trend is changing, my colleagues and I analyzed household food waste data over time in Denmark.
Household food waste per capita, 2014–2030
kg per capita · Source: Statistics Denmark & Danish Environmental Protection Agency
Household food waste has been increasing over time. This trend is particularly concerning as its trajectory is calculated. If current patterns continue, annual food waste could exceed 120 kilograms per capita by 2030. However, these numbers would have reflected the reality more clearly had the data covered a longer period of time.
Food prices (CPI)
Food CPI uses 2025 as the base year (2025 = 100) and measures relative price levels over time, calculated as the annual average of monthly data. For example, a food CPI of 80 means food prices were about 20% lower than in 2025.
Food CPI (2025=100) Food waste (kg per capita)
A study conducted by Vicky Heijnk and Sebastian Hess suggests that food prices have an inverse relationship with food waste, meaning waste levels are expected to decline, at least to some extent, following a rise in food prices, possibly indicating signs of food insecurity.
Denmark, however, does not appear to follow this pattern. An analysis of food waste and food prices, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), shows no such relationship.
The result shows that both food waste and food CPI have been rising gradually over time. Danes do not seem particularly concerned about food insecurity, even when food prices increase significantly, as seen during the surge following the COVID-19 pandemic. In other words, higher prices do not necessarily lead Danes to waste less. Why is that?
When disposable income per capita is added as an independent variable, the results tell a more compelling story. Disposable income is positively related to food waste. For every additional 1,000 kroner earned, food waste increases by about 1 gram per person. This number may seem small, but it quickly adds up across Denmark's population.
According to the Danish NGO Stop Spild Af Mad, which focuses on reducing food waste, Christmas has traditionally been considered a "food waste holiday." However, recent findings from 2025 suggest a shift in behavior. "Food prices have risen by over 30% in the past four years, according to figures from Statistics Denmark, and Danes' food budgets at Christmas are being hit hard," the organization notes in its latest report.
Danes are a little tired of climate messages, but they listen when we talk about their wallets. When food becomes more expensive, Danes are motivated to change their behavior.
Selina Juul, Founder & Chairwoman, Stop Spild Af MadLooking back at our study, the fact that food waste does not decrease as food CPI increases may indicate a delayed response, with changes in consumer behavior emerging in recent years.
To better understand what the numbers don't reveal, we decided to conduct a small survey, visiting supermarkets in Aarhus. Not surprisingly, most people say their grocery spending, an estimated 20–30%, does not make up a large portion of their overall income.
Niels, an elementary school teacher, notes that there is no food shortage and that people's incomes are relatively high. So, although food prices are rising, awareness of eating habits has not significantly changed. As Niels put it, "Many of the children I teach don't know how to save food. Even among well-off families, there is a lack of education and awareness."
Annbritt Jørgensen, a politician and founder of Skraldecaféen ("Trash Café"), leads an NGO collecting surplus food from supermarkets and redistributing it to the community. She notes that household food waste is often linked to a lack of meal planning.
The issue isn't just about purchasing behavior, but also about handling leftovers.
The Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries has focused more on continuous public guidance and practical tools to reduce food waste. On its official platform, the ministry provides advice targeting both households and food businesses. For households, the ministry promotes everyday behavioral changes. It offers concrete tools such as meal planning guides and instructions on how to understand food labeling and shelf life. Gudrun points out that engaging consumers is not always easy, but some initiatives have shown promising results. "We had campaigns targeting families with children because studies showed that these households had some difficulties in reducing food waste" , as it's tricky to predict children's eating habits.
Contrary to popular belief, household waste is not the largest contributor in Denmark — the production sector is. The country produces large amounts of food relative to its population, so waste at the production level is particularly significant. "A lot of the innovative approaches that have been looked at in recent years have been more at the production level," Gudrun says.
Some measures at the retailing level can also help shape behavior at home. For example, offering smaller portion sizes allows people to buy only what they need. Platforms like Too Good To Go allow consumers to buy surplus food at a lower price. Such initiatives help businesses reduce waste without increasing waste at the household level, at least based on the platform's own findings.
When it comes to identifying the most effective policies, Gudrun admits "measuring food waste is actually quite challenging," as it comes with a high degree of uncertainty, which in turn makes deploying the right initiatives difficult.
Despite nearly two decades of political attention, public awareness, and multiple initiatives, the total amount of food waste has not significantly decreased. But there could be some measurement reason behind this trend, Gudrun urges caution in interpreting these figures. "In the past, some of this waste was simply not measured," she says. As a result, the apparent increase may reflect better data collection rather than a real rise in waste.
The issue of food waste, as nuanced as it is, when addressed on an individual level, involves everyday choices: only buying what you need and clearing what's on your plate.