Waste Prevention Along the Value Chain of the Austrian Food Industry – Focus on Food and Packaging

The AVÖL project aims to comprehensively update the data on preventable food waste in the Austrian food industry and food service sector and to derive effective waste prevention measures from this data. The starting point is that the currently available industry-specific data is based on surveys from 2015/2016 and is therefore of only limited relevance to current political, operational, and environmental requirements. The project will therefore use industry-wide surveys of selected companies in the Austrian food industry, qualitative interviews, and waste sorting analyses to collect data on current volumes, causes, composition, and disposal routes of food waste, as well as packaging waste. Building on this, existing waste prevention measures will be evaluated in terms of their effectiveness and efficiency, and at least five concrete measures will be implemented, monitored, and evaluated in partner companies. In addition to generating reliable data and practical recommendations for action, the project aims to establish a network for food waste prevention in the food industry to ensure knowledge transfer and long-term implementation within the sector. In this way, the project makes a concrete contribution to resource conservation, cost reduction, and the reduction of environmental impacts along the entire value chain.