In Cyprus, a study on food consumption and processing was carried out as part of the Foodprint information and education campaign – and it was found that 23% of the food the population buys for the week is simply thrown away.

Only 14% of the households surveyed said that they had no food to throw away. Meanwhile, three quarters of Cypriots admitted that, in principle, they buy more food than they need. The vast majority of respondents, 85%, have extra food left over after cooking or delivering meals. Leftovers are disposed of in a number of ways – they are thrown out (approximately 17%), eaten later (67%), given to pets (33%) and used for composting (9%).

46% of the families agreed that food can be spent more wisely than they do. More than half of the respondents said that they feel remorse when they throw out food and foodstuffs. However, only 39% realise that they are not only wasting the family budget, but are also creating unnecessary waste that is harmful to nature.