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Cost of waste calculator: what goes in the bin costs
The cost of waste is the value, at purchase price, of everything that was bought and not sold: expired or damaged products, unsold items at the end of service, trimmings and preparation mistakes. Enter one week of waste: the calculator gives the total, its share of purchases and the same week repeated over a year. The calculation runs in your browser, no sign-up.
Calculate the cost of your waste
The formula
Waste for the week = discarded products + unsold items + preparation waste
Share of purchases = waste for the week ÷ food purchases for the week × 100
Everything is counted at purchase price excluding VAT, or at the food cost from the recipe card for a prepared dish: it is money spent for nothing. The lost selling price is a different calculation, that of lost revenue.
The prefilled example
| Line | Calculation | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Products discarded before use | Weighing and purchase price | €180 |
| Unsold items at the end of service | Food cost of the dishes | €240 |
| Preparation waste | Trimmings, mistakes, dishes sent back | €90 |
| Waste for the week | 180 + 240 + 90 | €510 |
| Food purchases | Invoices for the week | €3,200 |
| Share of purchases | 510 ÷ 3,200 | 15.9% |
| Over 52 weeks | 510 × 52 | €26,520 |
Measure before you reduce
The calculation is only as good as the weighing: a sheet next to the bins, one line per product, the reason (expired, unsold, preparation) and the weight. One week is enough to see where waste comes from; several weeks show whether it is falling.
Unsold items come from production set too high: you reduce them by preparing according to what each service will sell, as the guide to unsold bakery products explains. Discarded products often come from ordering: the inventory management guide starts from need to place orders. To see the weight of waste in food cost, go to the food cost calculator.