Food waste still too high in Switzerland, says government

Food waste in Switzerland remains too high, the government said on Wednesday, drawing mixed conclusions four years after launching an action plan to halve food waste by 2030. While progress has been made in retail and catering, households continue to lag behind.

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According to an interim report, food losses fell by only around 5% between 2017 and 2024, far short of the 25% reduction targeted for 2025.

The action plan, introduced in 2022, has shown results in retail, where food waste has been cut by about 20%.

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Losses have also “clearly” decreased in the catering sector, although these figures are based only on companies and organisations that actively measure their waste. To date, 37 participants are involved in the voluntary scheme.

Households key to progress

The report identifies households as the main challenge. They account for nearly 28% of total food losses and contribute significantly to the environmental footprint of the food system.

+ Households biggest source of Swiss food waste

While household food waste has fallen by 13% since 2017, the government said this is not enough to meet the 2030 target.

“Without households, halving food waste will not be possible,” the Federal Council noted, adding that existing measures have not sufficiently reached this group.

The government has now adopted additional measures, mainly focused on awareness?raising. A new interim evaluation is planned for 2028.

However, the Federal Council ruled out introducing taxes on unsold food. In 2024, it had said such measures could be considered if progress remained insufficient by 2025.

Translated from French with DeepL/sb