Summary
This paper presents a detailed composition analysis of plate waste from elementary school meals in Uppsala, Sweden, revealing significant environmental and nutritional losses embedded in discarded food. The findings demonstrate a disproportionate climate impact from meat waste relative to its weight, and quantify the nutrient-dense nature of plate waste (4.8 MJ energy/kg, 57 g/kg protein, 19 g/kg fibre). The authors recommend tailored food waste prevention strategies in school canteens as a pathway to reduce environmental burden and preserve nutrients for child nutrition.
UK applicability
The findings are broadly relevant to UK school meal provision, as similar patterns of food waste and nutritional loss are likely to occur in comparable institutional feeding systems. However, UK school meal composition, portion sizing practices and waste patterns may differ from Swedish contexts, requiring locally calibrated waste prevention interventions.
Key measures
Carbon footprint of plate waste (kg CO2e/kg); composition by food type (%); energy content (MJ/kg); protein (g/kg); fibre (g/kg)
Outcomes reported
The study quantified plate waste composition from 4,913 meals across two Swedish elementary schools, measuring the embedded carbon footprint (1.0 kg CO2e/kg waste) and nutrient content of discarded food. It identified that whilst staple foods comprised the majority of wasted weight, meat waste accounted for the largest proportion of the carbon footprint despite representing only 10% of plate waste by weight.
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