When a customer walks out of an Australian quick-service restaurant with the wrong meal, they might grab the correct one, apologize, and leave—but the business just added another item to a staggering pile of waste. A new RMIT University study has identified wrong orders as the leading cause of food waste in Australia's fast-food and takeaway sector, revealing that simple human error—not expired stock or spoilage—is driving losses worth $36.6 billion annually.
This matters because Australia's quick-service restaurants, from burger chains to kebab shops, are throwing away food at an alarming scale. The foodservice sector generates 1.2 million metric tons of waste per year, and takeaway outlets alone account for 40% of the hospitality sector's food waste. That's not just an environmental crisis; it's money disappearing from business margins.
The Quick Service Restaurant Sector Action Plan, developed by RMIT University for End Food Waste Australia, surveyed owners, store managers and employees across the sector and observed operations to pinpoint exactly where meals go to waste. The results were clear: buns, fries, and vegetables are the most-wasted items, and wrong orders or customer returns are the leading cause. Overordering, overpreparing, and dropped or spilled food also contribute significantly. But the most striking finding wasn't about the food itself—it was about the people handling it.
Researchers discovered that staff motivation and training are the single biggest leverage points for change. While 70% of survey respondents reported receiving food waste training during onboarding, only 21% said they received ongoing or refresher training afterward. This matters enormously: employees who received both initial and refresher training were far more likely to feel motivated to reduce waste, while those with no training or one-off induction were more likely to ignore waste issues or be unsure how to respond. "Staff want to cut waste and frequent training can empower and motivate them," said Associate Professor Li Ping Thong, the lead researcher.
The study also uncovered systemic barriers beyond individual effort. Busy and quiet periods were ranked as the most wasteful times of day, suggesting outlets need different strategies for rush hours and slow periods. Poor storage conditions, faulty equipment, and strict safety policies that force surplus food to be discarded rather than donated also drive losses.
The quick-service restaurant sector is highly concentrated, with the top five companies controlling 43% of the market, which means recommendations from this research could reshape waste practices across a massive segment of the economy. Industry Director Charlton Honig from End Food Waste Australia emphasized the business case: "By cutting down on ordering mistakes and educating staff, quick service restaurants can keep more value in their business. It's a win-win—great for profits and the environment."
The solutions are practical and achievable. Beyond regular staff training, the report recommends making food waste metrics part of performance evaluations and celebrating waste reduction wins. Future work could standardize waste tracking across the industry, creating measurable accountability.
What makes this research hopeful is that it points to waste as preventable rather than inevitable. Wrong orders aren't a fact of fast food—they're a training problem. And training works.