Household food waste behaviour in Sarawak, Malaysia: a hierarchical regression analysis

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Food and Agriculture Organization defines food waste as the reductionin the nutritional value or mass of any edible part of food intended for human consumption.Malaysia produces approximately 17 thousand tons of food waste daily, which can threaten theenvironment. Present study aims to apply the Theory of Planned Behaviour to identify the factorsassociated with food waste behaviour in Sarawak.METHODS: A study was conducted between October 2020 and August 2022 using cross-sectionalstudy design. Households across Sarawak state were chosen using multistage random samplingtechnique. 2,059 respondents' data were collected via face-to-face interviews. Data analysiswas performed using SPSS version 27.0 with a p-value of < 0.05 being considered statisticallysignificant.RESULTS: Hierarchical linear regression analysis revealed that personal attitude (p < 0.001),subjective norms (p < 0.01), age (p < 0.05), gender (p < 0.05) and wealth (p < 0.01) positivelyand age inversely related with intentions not to waste food, while personal attitude (p < 0.001),subjective norms (p < 0.001), inversely related and perceived behavioural control (p < 0.001),and intentions (p < 0.05), age (p < 0.01) and gender (p < 0.01) positively related with food wastebehaviour.CONCLUSION: Results from the present study can strengthen the understanding of food wastebehaviour among the Sarawak population. Long-term programs focusing on reducing food wastebehaviour would be more effective in tackling this issue, as changing attitudes and norms in thecommunity usually require a long time.