The effects of an online food waste reduction platform in university canteens in Wuhan, China

Abstract

Wasted food (WF) and the associated waste derived from young adults have gained increased attention due to their rising quantity and negative environmental impacts; however, WF reduction measures are still scare. To address this gap, we conducted a case study (Wuhan) targeted at typical young adults (e.g., university students) using the direct weighing method (1872 samples), field investigation (195990 samples), and a questionnaire survey (799 samples). Owing to the low “Clean your plate” (CYP) rate (48 ± 36% per meal) and the high canteen takeout rate (43 ± 22% per meal) generated by the surveyed students, the investigated canteens in Wuhan produced 63 thousand metric tons (TMt) of canteen waste and 198 TMt CO2e during the life cycle stage in 2022. Food was primarily wasted due to food quantity (e.g., over-purchase of food) and quality (e.g., poor taste), and packaging waste was generated due to canteen takeout (PW_CT). We suggest the adoption of an online waste reduction platform to effectively reduce WF and PW_CT, which was designed with two mitigation solutions (CYP, “Over-Purchasing Reminder” [OPR], and “Canceling Packaging Option” [CPO] modules for SI; CYP, OPR, and “Sharing Tableware Option” [STO] modules for SII). When in operation, the platform helped consumers prevent the generation of approximately 42 and 43 TMt of canteen waste generated for SI and SII, respectively. This was accompanied by the maximal economic value (saving 73 million USD for SI) and the maximal climate benefits (143 TMt CO2e mitigation for SII).