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oai:figshare.com:article/34022652 2026-09-30T12:56:17Z category_30563 portal_1014 item_type_18 month_year_09_2026

Mandatory Reporting of Food Waste and Surplus Knowledge Account Angelica Nahalka (18085732) Luiza Toma (17951633) Agricultural, veterinary and food sciences food waste food surplus <p dir="ltr">Reducing food waste and surplus is a key priority within Scotland’s circular economy (CE) and food system policy agendas. The Scottish Government has embedded food waste and surplus reduction across a range of national strategies. Following powers introduced by the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024, the Scottish Government is exploring options for implementing mandatory reporting of food waste and surplus (MRFWS) by businesses in Scotland. Much of Scotland’s efforts to address food waste have been driven by economic incentives to minimise waste and its associated costs, alongside voluntary action motivated by concerns about the social, environmental, and climate impacts of food waste. Despite these drivers, the 2021 Scottish Food Waste Estimate stated Scotland generated over 1 million tonnes of food waste in that year, which was a 5% increase from the 2013 estimated baseline (Reid, 2024). Scotland’s Circular Economy and Waste Route Map to 2030 stated that, based on this 2021 data, Scotland was not on track to meet its goal to reduce food waste by 33% by 2025 against 2013 levels (Scottish Government, 2024c). However, the Scottish Government has also noted methodological inconsistencies with the approaches used to set and evaluate these targets, which may limit their suitability for measuring progress towards Scotland’s food waste reduction goals (Scottish Government, 2022b; 2022c). This indicates a need to strengthen existing food waste monitoring and reduction approaches. MRFWS may support such efforts by generating more comprehensive data on the scale and drivers of food waste and surplus and enable businesses to identify hotspots and implement targeted reduction strategies. These insights may also inform the development and implementation of wider interventions that contribute to achieving food waste and emissions reduction targets.</p> 2026-09-30T12:56:17Z Text Report 10.58073/SRUC.34022652.v2 https://figshare.com/articles/report/Mandatory_Reporting_of_Food_Waste_and_Surplus_Knowledge_Account/34022652 CC BY 4.0