Mapping the potential of the food loss and waste flows for circularity applications in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area

Food losses and waste (FLW) is a significant issue that affects food security, climate change, and resource efficiency. To address this, FLW reduction can be achieved through prevention and valorization strategies, which require quantification of FLW streams. While FLW quantification is a new field with several challenges, there is a growing interest in quantifying FLW at the city or metropolis level, e.g., as seen in Amsterdam's efforts to become a circular city.
This paper presents an initial study that quantifies food losses and waste (FLW) along the food supply chains in Amsterdam Metropolitan Areas, identifying hotspots for FLW, the associated nutrients, and its contribution to climate change (i.e. greenhouse gas emissions associated with the FLW). The study provides valuable insights for city managers to improve FLW prevention and valorization, and the methodology developed can be applied to other metropolises. Overall, this research makes an important contribution to FLW quantification and management.