Segmenting households based on food waste behaviours and waste audit outcomes: Introducing Over Providers, Under Planners and Considerate Planners

Abstract

Households are responsible for a significant amount of food waste, estimated to be around 50% of economic value in developed countries. This food waste emerges from the complex interplay of behaviours associated with the planning, shopping, storing, preparing and disposing practices of food provisioning. Three segments were identified based on analysis of behaviours measured in a national survey in Australia (n = 2803). Profiles of these segments were enriched with further insights from in-depth interviews with householders (n = 6). Rather than relying on potentially inaccurate self-reported surveys, actual food waste was measured by auditing waste bins from a selection of survey participants (n = 454). Results show that “Over Providers” (23% of households), with the highest food waste per household based primarily on the challenge of providing food for children, warrant a priority focus for interventions from policymakers and practitioners. “Under Planners” (32%), with their general disinterest in food, are unlikely to respond to information-based interventions and hence changes in behaviour will require a shift in choice architecture in food shopping environments. Whilst “Considerate Planners” (45%), tending to be older, show how experience and freedom to allocate more time to food provisioning support them in having the lowest food waste per household. Incorporating these insights in the design of food waste interventions will likely increase their effectiveness.