Short-term rental lodgers across the United States may be wasting more than $2.3 billion in food each year, a new study has found.

An average of $12 worth of uneaten groceries, takeout and restaurant leftovers are landing in the trash on a daily basis, according to the study, published in Waste Management.

That sum is about equivalent to 5.1 percent of a nightly rental fee — similar to tax rates applied to lodging in many locations, per the research.

“So people are basically paying an additional lodging tax through the money they spend on food that they never eat while they’re in the Airbnb,” lead author Brian Roe, a professor in agricultural economics at the Ohio State University, said........

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