Food Waste Management Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Food Waste Management Market is projected to expand from USD 87.94 Billion in 2025 to USD 123.27 Billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 5.79%. This sector encompasses the systematic collection, transportation, processing, and disposal of organic waste to mitigate environmental harm and reclaim valuable resources like bioenergy and fertilizer. Market growth is primarily sustained by strict government mandates requiring organic matter diversion from landfills, coupled with increasing global awareness of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with food decomposition. Furthermore, the integration of circular economy principles is urging industries to adopt efficient recovery technologies, thereby boosting the demand for sophisticated management solutions.

These driving forces are bolstered by data emphasizing the urgent need for scalable waste interventions. Research from the International Solid Waste Association in 2024 indicates that global municipal solid waste generation is on track to reach 3.8 billion tonnes annually by 2050. Despite this evident demand, the market encounters significant obstacles due to the high initial capital required to establish infrastructure like anaerobic digestion plants and composting facilities. This financial burden can obstruct widespread adoption, particularly in cost-sensitive regions where funding for such large-scale projects is limited.

Market Drivers

The enforcement of rigorous government regulations and waste disposal policies acts as a major accelerator for the global food waste management market. Authorities are increasingly instituting mandates to divert organic materials from landfills, compelling municipalities and commercial entities to invest in advanced recovery infrastructure. For example, a March 2024 press release from Zero Waste Europe highlighted that members of the European Parliament voted to increase legally binding food waste reduction targets to 40% for retail, restaurants, and households by 2030. Such legislative measures foster a compliance-oriented environment that directly stimulates the adoption of industrial-grade composting and anaerobic digestion technologies to achieve these ambitious diversion goals.

Concurrently, rapid urbanization and surging food waste generation underscore the need for scalable waste interventions. As cities become more densely populated, the logistical challenge of managing discarded organics intensifies, necessitating efficient collection and processing systems to reduce economic losses and environmental risks. According to the UNEP 'Food Waste Index Report 2024' released in March 2024, the world generated 1.05 billion tonnes of food waste in 2022, representing roughly 19% of all food available to consumers. This vast quantity of organic feedstock is driving growth in the waste-to-energy sector, a trend supported by World Biogas Association data in 2024 projecting a 32% increase in global biogas production between 2023 and 2028.

Market Challenges

The substantial capital expenditure necessary to build specialized infrastructure constitutes a major restraint on the global food waste management market. Constructing essential facilities, such as anaerobic digestion plants and large-scale composting sites, requires significant upfront investment in engineering, land acquisition, and processing machinery. This financial hurdle is particularly challenging for municipalities and private operators in developing regions, where budget limitations often force a prioritization of immediate operational expenses over long-term infrastructure developments. Consequently, the difficulty in securing initial funding prevents the shift from low-cost landfill disposal to advanced resource recovery systems, hindering market growth in cost-sensitive sectors.

This limitation on infrastructure development results in a marked disparity between the volume of waste produced and the industrial capacity available to treat it effectively. The 2024 Food Waste Index Report by the United Nations Environment Programme revealed that 1.05 billion tonnes of food waste were generated globally across retail, food service, and household sectors. While this immense amount of organic material highlights an urgent requirement for processing facilities, the high cost of entry restricts the deployment of management solutions capable of handling such volumes, thereby directly suppressing the market's potential valuation.

Market Trends

The industrial scaling of insect bioconversion for animal feed production is advancing from pilot projects to massive commercial operations, effectively closing the nutrient loop. This trend centers on using black soldier flies to convert organic by-products into high-value protein and oil for aquaculture and pet nutrition, allowing for the diversion of agricultural waste at volumes that traditional composting often cannot manage. According to a July 2024 article by WeAreAquaculture regarding Innovafeed, the company completed a significant expansion of its Nesle plant in France, increasing capacity to produce 100,000 tonnes of insect ingredients annually, which signals the sector's evolution into a viable solution for large-scale organic waste valorization.

Simultaneously, the integration of AI-driven predictive analytics for demand forecasting is revolutionizing waste prevention within the retail and hospitality industries. By utilizing machine learning algorithms, businesses can examine historical sales data and consumption patterns to refine inventory procurement, thereby drastically cutting the amount of perishable goods that go unsold. This technology reorients the focus from downstream disposal to upstream source reduction, providing financial incentives beyond mere regulatory compliance. As noted in an April 2024 Waste360 article on Winnow’s technology, commercial kitchens using AI-enabled waste tracking platforms are reporting a 50% reduction in food waste, demonstrating the operational efficiency derived from data-centric management strategies.

Key Players Profiled in the Food Waste Management Market

• Veolia
• Suez
• Waste Management, Inc.
• Republic Services, Inc.
• Covanta Ltd.
• Stericycle, Inc.
• Remondis SE & Co., KG
• Clean Harbors, Inc.
• Biffa
• Rumpke

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Food Waste Management Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Food Waste Management Market, by Type of Waste:

• Cereals
• Dairy Products
• Fruit & Vegetables
• Meat
• Fish & Seafood
• Oilseeds & Pulses
• Processed Food
• Coffee Grounds & Tea
• Others

Food Waste Management Market, by Process:

• Aerobic Digestion (composting)
• Anaerobic Digestion
• Incineration/ Combustion
• Others

Food Waste Management Market, by Source:

• Primary Food Producers
• Food Manufacturers
• Food Distributors & Suppliers
• Food Service Providers
• Municipalities & Households

Food Waste Management Market, by Application:

• Feed
• Fertilizers
• Biofuel
• Power Generation

Food Waste Management Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Food Waste Management Market.

Available Customization

The analyst offers customization according to your specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:

• Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five).

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