Domestic households generate between 31.9 kilogrammes and 97.3 kilogrammes of food waste per person each year, with most food ending up in general household rubbish instead of being separated for disposal, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
In its Special Release: Household Food Waste in Malaysia 2025, based on the National Household Indicators Survey (NHIS) 2025, DOSM said 79.3% of households dispose of food waste together with other household waste, while only 20.7% practise separate disposal.
The report found that although food waste remains widespread, most households discard relatively small amounts each week. Nearly half of households (48.2%) throw away less than 500 grammes of raw food weekly, while 45.6% dispose of under 500 grammes of processed or cooked food over the same period.
Processed or cooked food was found to be wasted more frequently than raw food. Overall, 94.1% of households reported discarding processed or cooked food, compared with 88.7% that threw away raw food.
Among raw food items, vegetables were the most commonly wasted, accounting for 29.1% of discarded items, followed by fruits (22.4%) and fish or seafood (15.0%).
For processed or cooked food, rice topped the list at 16.7%, followed by vegetables (15.8%) and takeaway food (13.8%).
DOSM identified expired food as the leading cause of household food waste, cited by 19.3% of respondents. Other major reasons included keeping leftovers in refrigerators or freezers for too long (18.1%), overbuying groceries (15.2%), and cooking more food than needed (15.1%).
The findings suggest that food management habits, rather than food shortages, remain a key driver of household waste, with avoidable practices such as excessive purchasing and poor meal planning contributing significantly to the problem.
From an international perspective, DOSM noted that Malaysia’s estimated household food waste of between 31.9kg and 97.3kg per capita annually is broadly in line with global trends, with the worldwide average estimated at 79kg per person each year.
The department said the statistics provide policymakers with a clearer understanding of household food waste management practices, including the volume of waste generated, the types of food most frequently discarded and the behavioural factors behind food wastage, supporting future initiatives to improve food sustainability and reduce waste nationwide.
