# A Perspective on Emerging Inter-Disciplinary Solutions for the Sustainable Management of Food Waste
## 3 Food Associated Waste Generation during the COVID-19 Pandemic  
Significant global economic losses and biosecurity risks are expected to occur from COVID-19 disruptions [68], calling for a more comprehensive strategy to improve food supply chain efficiency by lowering food loss and enhancing waste management in food supply chains challenged by shifts in consumer behaviour brought on by pandemics [69]. Changes in lifestyle and consumption, disruptions in supply chains and logistics, cheaper oil, and lower demand for recycled waste are just some of the aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic which have impacted waste management, recycling, and the circular economy worldwide [6; 7; 8; 54], as well as many other facets of sustainability [70]. [PERSON] et al. [71] also found that employment in the United States is typically associated with a higher level of consumer food waste; thus, the higher food costs and lower wages during the post-COVID era should lead to a reduction in food waste. Considering that COVID-19 has recently had a massive impact on hunger and food insecurity, it is essential to determine if global household food waste increased or reduced through the epidemic. Despite a surge in global food purchases, the level of household food waste in Italy (for example) reduced during the COVID-19 lockdown. This finding might indicate that the population's understanding or awareness of the importance of minimizing or at least decreasing food waste improved throughout the lockdown period in many impacted communities worldwide.  
During the COVID-19 crisis, a 12% increase in household food wastage was observed globally [69]. It is undeniable that the existing food delivery networks exacerbated food waste during the COVID-19 pandemic because they could not swiftly adapt to changes in consumer preferences [72]. In other places, such as Spain, fruit and vegetable crops were damaged because of labour shortages caused by illness or the fear of becoming ill among agricultural and food processing workers [73]. It is expected that government intervention may lessen the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on wasted food. However, it is the objective of government policies that establishes how successful they will be. [PERSON] et al. [74] discovered a connection between lowering the amount of wasted  
Figure 2: Estimates of food waste from households across the world. Source of data: United Nations Environment Programme’s 2021 Food Waste Index [1].  
food and enacting policies that stimulate innovation to dampen the impact of adverse occurrences on food sources.  
It has also been found that companies that adjusted their business approach could boost their production efficiency while also lowering the amount of wasted food. In Italy, [PERSON] et al. [75] performed a nationwide assessment of household food consumption and discovered a substantial reduction in food waste when people resorted to buying more non-perishable items. As a consequence of this, behaviour changes in food handling were brought about as a result of the reality of the COVID-19 crisis, which eventually contributed to an improvement in the burden of waste management. Their findings show that consumers are becoming more conscious of food waste, which might positively affect the environment by lowering greenhouse gas emissions and groundwater contamination if worldwide populations adopt the same practices, including beyond the COVID-19 era.