Less Food Ends Up in the Bin: Here Are the Results of Nébih’s Latest 2025 Food Waste Survey

The latest comprehensive research conducted by the National Food Chain Safety Office (Nébih) at the end of 2025 reveals that food waste among the Hungarian population has decreased significantly, by more than a third over the past nine years. Although the trend is highly encouraging and domestic figures remain more favorable than the European average, a Hungarian citizen still generates an average of 60.7 kilograms of food waste annually. In our article, relying on objective data, we present in detail the most important numbers of the research, the main causes of food waste, and exactly what makes up the contents of domestic bins.

The Background of the Research and the Applied EU-FUSIONS Methodology

Nébih has been continuously and scientifically monitoring the quantity and composition of food waste generated in Hungarian households since 2016. The latest data collection took place in the fourth quarter of 2025. Approximately 150 households were included in the survey (according to the official website, 151, while based on the research summary’s clarification, 153 households, totaling 421 individuals). The average household size was 2.75 people.

The research was entirely based on the EU-FUSIONS methodology recommended by the European Union. This is currently the most widely accepted measurement procedure, which takes into account not only solid but also liquid food waste. Participants recorded the exact amount, type, reason for disposal, and waste management method of discarded food in a detailed waste diary over the course of a week. Researchers then extrapolated this one-week data volume to a full annual consumption cycle.

How Much Is It Exactly? The Precise Amount of Domestic Food Waste

The data highlights that an average Hungarian citizen generates 60.68 kilograms of food waste annually. Projected to a national level, this means approximately 576 thousand tons of food waste every single year. However, not all of this significant amount qualifies as actual waste. The research categorizes the generated waste into three main groups:

• Unavoidable food waste: This includes parts that are inherently unfit for human consumption, such as bones, eggshells, coffee grounds, or vegetable peels. This category accounts for the largest portion of total waste, exactly 56.51%, which means 34.29 kilograms per capita annually.

• Potentially avoidable food waste: This group (which constitutes 9.21% of the total amount, 5.59 kg per capita) includes foods that would theoretically be suitable for human consumption, but eating them depends on individual taste or health condition (for example, bread crusts or chicken skin).

• Avoidable food waste: This represents the actual food waste that could have been prevented with a little attention. In Hungarian households, 34.28% of all food waste falls into this category, amounting to 20.80 kilograms of unnecessarily discarded food per person. At the residential level, this is equivalent to approximately 197 thousand tons of waste annually.

Significant Decrease Over the Past Nine Years

One of the most positive findings of the 2025 research is that the extent of avoidable food waste—that is, actual food waste—has remarkably decreased by one-third over the past nine years. While in 2016 this value was still 33.14 kg/capita/year, by 2025 it dropped to 20.80 kg. Overall, in the last nine years, the total amount of food waste has decreased by 10.8%, and explicit food waste has moderated by more than 37%.

What Ends Up in the Bin Most Often?

The results also revealed which types of food are most exposed to wasting. More than three-quarters (75.76%) of avoidable food waste comes from just three food groups:

1. Leftovers (ready meals): This continues to top the list with 7.71 kilograms per capita. The silver lining is that the waste of ready meals is also continuously decreasing, as this value is about one kilogram lower compared to the data measured in 2024.

2. Fresh vegetables and fruits: 5.08 kilograms per person end up in the trash every year.

3. Bakery products: 2.92 kilograms per year are wasted by an average consumer.

These are followed by dairy products (2.11 kg), and then, lagging far behind, beverages (0.61 kg), processed meats (0.52 kg), and plant-based foods (0.37 kg).

Why Do We Waste? The Main Causes and Our Perception of Reality

Perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the study examines the public’s attitude toward its own waste. It turned out that there is a serious gap between reality and consumers’ self-image. Households estimated their own annual food waste production at merely 22.71 kilograms on average, which represents a 63% underestimation compared to the measured reality of 60.68 kilograms. Six out of ten (61%) households thought their own waste was significantly less than the actual amount.

The most common reasons for throwing food away can be traced back to unchanged everyday mistakes over the years:

• The largest proportion (22.64%) simply forgets about the food, which thus goes bad or its expiration date passes.

• The second most common reason (15.15%) is over-purchasing.

• This is followed by preparing excessive amounts of food, which family members either didn’t feel like eating anymore (12.47%), or the food went bad before it could be consumed (7.14%).

• It is also a defining reason that children leave their food behind (6.94%).

Where Does the Food Waste Go and What Is the Composting Rate?

The waste management data also hold lessons. More than half (51.73%) of food waste ends up in the municipal trash bin. On a positive note, the composting rate reaches 25.25% (52.29% of the households participating in the survey compost in some form). However, the study notes that 45.26% of all food waste would be suitable for composting, so there are still huge reserves in this area. 13.02% of the remaining waste is fed to animals, 5.87% goes down the drain, while the share of separate bio-waste collection bins is currently only 1.60%.

Future European Goals and the Project Wasteless (Maradék nélkül) Program

The European Union’s objective is to reduce the amount of food waste generated in households and catering by at least 30% by 2030 compared to the average of the 2021-2023 period. Although domestic data are more favorable than the European average of 69 kg/capita, further reduction is essential. It is an encouraging sign that more than 85% of the participating households themselves feel they could further reduce the amount of food waste they generate. This process is supported by Nébih’s now 10-year-old “Project Wasteless” (Maradék nélkül) program, which in 2026 continues to help the population achieve more conscious consumption with awareness-raising activities, educational materials, and practical tips.

References and Original State Sources:

• Official Nébih announcement (2026): How much food waste is generated in households? Nébih’s survey reveals

• Research summary (PDF): Household Food Waste Survey 2025