Solid Food Waste — Emissions in Northern America

Northern America: Solid Food Waste — Emissions was 1,655 kt in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
1,655 kt
Change on year
up 0.2%
Rank
14th
of 31 groups
All-time high
1,655 kt
in 2023
All-time low
1,498 kt
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023

Solid Food Waste — Emissions in Northern America, 1990–2023

05001.0k1.5k1990200620231990: 1.5k kt1991: 1.5k kt1992: 1.5k kt1993: 1.5k kt1994: 1.6k kt1995: 1.6k kt1996: 1.6k kt1997: 1.6k kt1998: 1.6k kt1999: 1.6k kt2000: 1.6k kt2001: 1.6k kt2002: 1.6k kt2003: 1.6k kt2004: 1.6k kt2005: 1.6k kt2006: 1.6k kt2007: 1.6k kt2008: 1.6k kt2009: 1.6k kt2010: 1.6k kt2011: 1.6k kt2012: 1.6k kt2013: 1.6k kt2014: 1.6k kt2015: 1.6k kt2016: 1.6k kt2017: 1.6k kt2018: 1.6k kt2019: 1.6k kt2020: 1.6k kt2021: 1.6k kt2022: 1.7k kt2023: 1.7k kt

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in kt.

Analysis

The most recent figure for solid food waste — emissions in Northern America is 1,655 kt, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, solid food waste — emissions in Northern America peaked at 1,655 kt in 2023 and was at its lowest, 1,498 kt, in 1990.

That places Northern America 14th out of 31 groups with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.

Solid Food Waste — Emissions in Northern America, year by year

Annual values for Solid Food Waste — Emissions (CH4) in Northern America, 1990 to 2023.
Year kt Change
1990 1,498 kt —
1991 1,518 kt +1.3%
1992 1,534 kt +1.1%
1993 1,547 kt +0.8%
1994 1,557 kt +0.7%
1995 1,566 kt +0.6%
1996 1,573 kt +0.5%
1997 1,580 kt +0.4%
1998 1,585 kt +0.3%
1999 1,590 kt +0.3%
2000 1,595 kt +0.3%
2001 1,599 kt +0.2%
2002 1,602 kt +0.2%
2003 1,606 kt +0.2%
2004 1,609 kt +0.2%
2005 1,613 kt +0.2%
2006 1,616 kt +0.2%
2007 1,620 kt +0.2%
2008 1,623 kt +0.2%
2009 1,624 kt +0.1%
2010 1,627 kt +0.1%
2011 1,629 kt +0.1%
2012 1,631 kt +0.1%
2013 1,633 kt +0.1%
2014 1,635 kt +0.1%
2015 1,637 kt +0.1%
2016 1,639 kt +0.1%
2017 1,641 kt +0.1%
2018 1,643 kt +0.1%
2019 1,645 kt +0.1%
2020 1,646 kt +0.1%
2021 1,649 kt +0.2%
2022 1,652 kt +0.2%
2023 1,655 kt +0.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 1,555 kt 1,498 kt 1,590 kt 10
2000s 1,611 kt 1,595 kt 1,624 kt 10
2010s 1,636 kt 1,627 kt 1,645 kt 10
2020s 1,651 kt 1,646 kt 1,655 kt 4

Countries ranked near Northern America

  1. 11 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 49.57 kt compare
  2. 11 Thailand 518.44 kt compare
  3. 12 Egypt 453.62 kt compare
  4. 12 Republic of Moldova 48.82 kt compare
  5. 13 Bangladesh 382.4 kt compare
  6. 13 Lao People's Democratic Republic 8.44 kt compare
  7. 14 Iraq 340.9 kt compare
  8. 14 Timor-Leste 1.24 kt compare
  9. 15 Spain 339.9 kt compare
  10. 16 Argentina 316.49 kt compare
  11. 17 Saudi Arabia 312.92 kt compare

See the full ranking of 226 places →

More climate change data for Northern America

All data for Northern America →

Frequently asked questions

What is solid food waste — emissions in Northern America?
Solid food waste — emissions in Northern America was 1,655 kt in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest solid food waste — emissions recorded in Northern America?
The highest recorded value was 1,655 kt in 2023.
What is the lowest solid food waste — emissions recorded in Northern America?
The lowest recorded value was 1,498 kt in 1990.
How does Northern America rank for solid food waste — emissions?
Northern America ranks 14th out of 31 groups with data for 2023.
Is solid food waste — emissions rising or falling in Northern America?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Northern America data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Solid Food Waste — Emissions (CH4). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Solid Food Waste — Emissions in Northern America. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 27 September 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/stat/solid-food-waste-emissions-ch4/northern-america/

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About this data

Indicator
Solid Food Waste — Emissions (CH4)
Unit
kt
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
226 places, 7,416 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT domain on Emissions from Pre- and post- agricultural production includes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and related activity data, generated from pre- and post-agriculture production stages of the agri-food systems. Data are computed following the Tier 1 methods of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National greenhouse gas (GHG) Inventories (IPCC, 1996; 1997; 2000; 2002; 2006; 2014). The domain includes methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and CO2 equivalent (CO2eq) emissions from the above activities as well as the aggregate fluorinated gases (F-gases) emissions. Estimates are available by country, with global coverage and are updated annually.The FAOSTAT domain disseminates information estimates of CH4, N2O, CO2 emissions, F-gases, their aggregates in CO2eq in units of kilotonnes (kt, or 10^6 kg), and the underlying activity data. CO2eq emissions are computed by using the IPCC Fifth Assessment report global warming potentials, AR5 (IPCC, 2014). Data are available for most countries and territories, for standard FAOSTAT regional aggregations, and for Annex I and non-Annex I country groups.