The household wasteful behaviour framework: A systematic review of consumer food waste

Abstract

Every year one third of the food produced globally is either lost or wasted along the food supply chain (FSC) causing significant economic, environmental and social damages. In the developed countries household food waste is a major concern, which is manly triggered by poor food-related behaviour. Due to the importance and magnitude of the phenomenon, the UN has set the global goal of halving food loss and waste by 2030. However, to the best of our knowledge, to date no systematic literature review has been conducted on household food waste and little comprehensive explanation has yet been offered for wasteful household behaviour. Therefore, the aim of this study was to carry out a systematic review of the literature produced over an eighteen-year period (2000–2018) in order to gain a deeper understanding of multiple, complex facets of the food waste phenomenon at consumer level. Drawing on the results of the systematic literature review and of the behavioural and marketing theories, we propose a new theoretical framework “The Household Wasteful Behaviour Framework”, with the aim of better explaining food waste behaviour at household level. Results can be useful to better target social norm and educational campaigns both at private and public level.