Food Waste Practices Research Articles

Scaling the Food Mountain: Implications for Addressing the Determinants of Consumer Food Waste Practices

The growing food waste phenomenon is recognised as a global issue with significant social, economic, and environmental burdens. This is a major concern in developed nations, where consumers are the largest contributors to the total volume of food waste production. As a leading cause of food and water insecurity, economic inequality, and environmental degradation, preventing and minimising consumer food waste is a key objective for policymakers and practitioners. Due to the complex consumer behaviours and practices associated with food waste generation, current understandings of why food waste occurs remain scattered. The purpose of this review is therefore to map the history and development of consumer food waste research over time, highlighting key themes and inconsistencies within the existing literature. Adopting a narrative approach, the literature is organised into three distinct themes to explore and identify the various internal and external determinants of consumer food waste. Our analysis highlights consumer food waste as a complex and multi-faceted challenge which cannot be attributed to one single variable, but rather a combination of behaviours determined by various societal, individual, and behavioural factors. While previous research tends to frame food waste as mainly a consumer issue, this review identifies several collective actors who are central to the problem. These findings call for a holistic view across the food supply chain to help identify opportunities for multi-stakeholder actions that prevent and reduce food waste at the consumer level. Drawing upon these new insights, we provide practical recommendations to assist policymakers, retailers, and consumers in mitigating consumer-related food waste.

Freezing time, freezing in time: reconfiguring freezing practices for reducing meat waste and energy consumption

Considering that many fresh food items require domestic cold storage, understanding the role of appliances such as freezers is critical to reducing greenhouse gas emissions relating to domestic food waste and energy use. Using a social practices approach, this article reports on a study of cold storage and food waste practices, particularly freezing relating to meat, in 20 Australian households. Householders were interviewed twice, over winter and summer, 2022–2023. We studied intersecting practices of eating, shopping, cooking and cold storage, and their connection to larger social phenomena such as cold supply chains to gain insights into how and why meat was wasted. Although we set out to study household practices, we found that retailer practices of pricing specials and bulk buying must also be considered. Retailer practices combined with ambiguity in consumer understandings of date labels, shelf life and freezing times mean that domestic cold storage has become a normalised extension of the cold supply chain of food, especially for meat. We argue that understandings such as convenience and thriftiness, in conjunction with retailer expectations of domestic cold storage, may lead to the ratcheting up of household freezer use for food storage. We illustrate through our findings that this may potentially increase energy consumption and accelerate food waste, which becomes particularly problematic for carbon-intensive foods such as red meat. In innovatively reimagining domestic cold storage as an extension of industrial and retailer cold supply chains, we explore what kind of capabilities may be required for an equitable and low waste cold supply chain that reduces reliance on household freezers.

The Impact of Environmental Knowledge on Food Waste Reduction and Sustainability Practices among Hospitality Students in Malaysia

Environmental sustainability and food waste reduction are among the critical challenges facing the hospitality industry worldwide. This study was conducted to identify the impact of environmental knowledge on food waste reduction and sustainability practices among hospitality students in Malaysia. A quantitative approach was used, and we surveyed 94 hospitality students from various programs at UiTM Penang. The online questionnaire was conducted and analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis. There is a significant positive correlation between environmental knowledge, food waste behaviors and sustainability-related behaviors. The strongest relationship was found between food waste behaviors and sustainability-related behaviors, suggesting that environmental knowledge and food waste practices are closely related to broader sustainability behaviors in hospitality education. The study contributes to the understanding of how environmental education can shape the future of hospitality professional practice, offering valuable insights for the development of industry curricula and training programs aimed at promoting sustainable practices in the hospitality sector.

More-than-transactional circular economies: the café-urban farm nexus and emergent regional food waste circuits

ABSTRACT As governments encourage circular economy (CE) initiatives, markets for waste recirculation are taking shape. But implementation is in its infancy and material circuits are emergent. Early food waste CEs shaped by commercial players emphasise capital investment, routinised forms of waged labour, processing sites distant from food waste sources, and transactional relationships. Less well understood is the potential for vernacular circularity beyond market-based, transactional frames. This paper reports from a collaborative research exercise with a non-profit community farm in nonmetropolitan Australia, seeking to connect with cafés to access food waste for composting. Cafés are a nexus of production and consumption, ubiquitous in the contemporary multicultural Australian context, and therefore ideal for grassroots CEs. Ten local cafes participated, reviewing existing food waste practices, motivations for circularity, and contextual factors including the regional setting. We found that food waste circularity emerges via divergent pathways related to enterprise type and scale, environmental values of actors, place embeddedness, and local relationships. These pathways reflect the place-based attributes and diverse sustainability values of residents and businesses in the coastal, industrial city of Wollongong, where the study is based. Contrasting distant, transactional circuits, are more-than-transactional food waste pathways, developed by microscale actors shaping vernacular material flows and “hacking” public provision of Food Organic and Garden Organic (FOGO) waste services to mobilise environmental values and community relationships. Overlooked by “big policy” more-than-transactional relationships bind producers, intermediaries and consumers in closer loops and, in so doing, enrich place and facilitate an ethic of care for soil and land.

Food Waste Management and Awareness: A survey among Bandar Puncak Alam residents’ community

The escalating food waste issue, notably in Malaysia, prompted this study. The objectives aimed to assess Bandar Puncak Alam residents' knowledge and awareness, understand waste management behaviors, explore current food waste practices, and evaluate concerns about food waste issues. Utilizing questionnaires distributed among 152 residents via convenience sampling, the study revealed robust awareness and commitment to environmental sustainability. However, a notable gap was identified in the understanding of optimal food waste management methods. Despite high awareness levels, there is a need for enhanced education on effective food waste handling in Bandar Puncak Alam.

Workshop Analysis on Behaviour Changes Towards Minimising Food Waste for Waste-Ed

This study evaluates the effectiveness of Waste-Ed with Kate, a community-directed food waste reduction workshop, in instigating behaviour change among participants. This study used a combination of pre-attendance, on the night and both three and six week post attendance surveys to gain insight into participant behaviours. The data collected, focuses on understanding the dynamics of reported food waste amounts. Alongside the focus of investigating change in behaviour following workshop attendance, this study also investigated the best form of communication. The purpose of looking into communication methods, was to determine the most effective way to collect data about household food waste practices following the workshop. Three different communication methods were tested, and reported on to determine the highest response rate, which can be used in future. Graphical representations and Likert scale analyses illustrate participants' behaviour’s pre-attendance and at three and six weeks post-workshop. The findings indicate a significant reduction in reported post-workshop food waste, suggesting a positive impact on participants' practices. The study, commissioned by the Ministry for the Environment, contributes valuable insights into the success of workshops as behaviour change interventions. Continued evaluation of behaviour change initiatives that address the complex issue of food waste is recommended.
 Supervised by: Miranda Mirosa and Grace Clare
 Scholarship Project Funded by: Waste-Ed With Kate

An Exploratory Study on Urban Household’s Food Waste Management in Asingan, Pangasinan and Paniqui, Tarlac - Philippines

Food wastes as one of the prevalent problems in Europe and America, now felt and experienced by other nations became the focus of many researches. Poor segregation of food wastes mixed up with plastics and other polymers created health concerns from its foul odor causing insect proliferation and bacterial growth. For this reason, this exploratory study based on purposive survey involving 30 urban households following specific criteria residing in Asingan, Pangasinan and Paniqui, Tarlac which aims to investigate food waste management gathering qualitative and quantitative data by questionnaire. By identifying food waste produced and food waste practices, this study addresses concerns on how to take action on proper food waste disposal and recommends other ways to reduce such wastes. The result showed that 70% of the respondents are aware and practiced proper segregation of food wastes as it has been used for various purposes. The collected data gathered from both municipalities are analyzed, tabulated and compared resulting to a very positive correlation using Pearson correlation coefficient (r) which can be used as a reference in addressing food waste problems in the urban places in the country.

Diverting Food Waste From Landfill in Exemplar Hospital Foodservices: A Qualitative Study

BackgroundThe US Environmental Protection Agency Food Recovery Hierarchy suggests methods for diverting food waste from landfill. Knowledge of how hospital foodservices implement food waste management strategies could help modernize food waste practices. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore hospital staff members’ experiences of implementing a food waste management strategy to divert food waste from landfill in their hospital foodservice, including the journey, challenges, and facilitators of this practice change. DesignA qualitative study was conducted in 2022-2023 using semi-structured interviews. Participants/settingEighteen participants were staff members with knowledge of the food waste management strategy from 14 exemplar hospitals in United States, Spain, Scotland, and Australia using strategies to divert food waste from landfill within the last 10 years. Analyses performedMapping and thematic analysis were undertaken to code and identify themes from the interviews that described staff members’ experiences of the journey to implement the strategy. ResultsSix hospitals donated food, 1 transferred food waste for animal feed, 4 used an industrial solution, and 3 sent food waste for composting. A common journey pathway for successful implementation was identified from participants' experiences. It features the following 6 phases: idea, preparation, roll out, maintenance, established practice, and evolution. Facilitators included legislation, enthusiastic staff members, executive support, and “luck.” Challenges were smells, occasions when food waste was not collected, equipment breakage, and funding depletion. ConclusionsThis study identified a common journey pathway for implementing a food waste management strategy in hospital foodservices that can be used to anticipate and prepare for the steps in the implementation process.

Environmental sustainability and food provision in the early childhood and education setting.

To describe environmentally sustainable (ES) and healthy food provision practices in childcare services in Victoria, Australia. Cross-sectional study. Childcare services providing food onsite. Staff completed an online survey that explored ES food provision practices including purchasing seasonal/local food, food waste awareness/management, and food cost/child/d. A purposively sampled subgroup conducted weighed audits to determine compliance with guidelines and total waste, serving waste (prepared, not served) and plate waste. Survey results found 8 % of services (n 129) had previously conducted food waste audits. Service audits (n 12) found 27 % total food waste (range: 9 % - 64 %). Statistically significant differences in plate waste were found between services who had previously conducted food waste audits (7 %) and those who had not (17 %) (P = 0·04). The most common ES practice was 'providing seasonal food'; the least common was 'maintaining a compost system' and 'less packaged foods'. Most services (95 %) purchased foods from supermarkets with 23 % purchasing from farmers' markets. This was statistically lower for regional/rural services (8 %), compared to metropolitan services (27 %) (P = 0·04). Twenty-seven per cent of services spent AUD2·50 or less per child per day on food. Only one audited service provided a menu compliant with childcare food provision guidelines. Childcare settings procure and provide large volumes of food; however, food waste awareness appears limited, and environmentally sustainable food procurement practices may be less affordable and difficult to achieve. Understanding the impact of food waste awareness on food waste practices and food costs across time merits further research.

The circular economy futures in the making: Transformativity and object ontologies in food waste practices in Finnish households, supermarkets and biogas plants

This article examines how food waste practices in households, supermarkets and biogas plants contribute to enacting potential circular economy (CE) futures. The article is based on a multi-sited ethnography conducted in Finland during 2019–2021. The analysis focuses on the transformativity of practices, exploring how the CE as a societal transformation is made in hands-on practices at different sites. With the transformativity of practices, I refer to the future-in-the-making aspect of practices—that is, the capability of practices to change both the practices themselves and the materials entangled with and within the practices. I conceptualise three different dimensions of transformativity of practices (habitual, planned and experimental) that simultaneously enact both the ontologies of food waste and potential CE futures differently. The article argues that present practices are not projected towards only one potential CE future—but rather multiple potential CE futures—and that these futures are based partly on contradictory rationalities. I suggest that a focus on the different dimensions of the transformativity of practices and their rationalities enables practice-based research to better articulate how the changing goals of practices can shape different societal transformations and futures, such as the CE.

Food waste matters - The policy implications and sustainability of food waste practices

Food waste has grown in the last couple of years and is recognized by the general public, governments, education, companies, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to cause greenhouse emissions and resource reduction. In the food supply chain, food waste is generated at all levels. The purpose of this article is to use information from various scholarly articles to analyze the determinants of consumer food waste and the key elements that facilitate or hinder food waste activities. Furthermore, we briefly discuss the contributions of various theories in understanding food wastage. This analysis shows that food waste needs to be understood and tackled with the views of different disciplines because it is quite complex. Understanding the reasons behind food waste production would aid in the creation of food waste preventive measures and sustainability.

Exploring Food Waste at a Hospitality Staff Canteen With Meteorological Data

While food waste in the hospitality industry remains a major global issue, the food waste practices of employees have been largely neglected. This paper explores the effects of meteorological factors on unserved food from the perspective of hospitality employees. A mixed methods research design is adopted with quantitative data obtained from the unserved food records of an integrated resort (IR) with additional meteorological data from an official government website. This quantitative data is complemented by in-depth interviews with employees of the IR. The results of the quantitative study indicate that high mean temperatures and higher average sulfur dioxide and ozone levels significantly influence the amount of unserved food. Further exploration of the quantitative study results through qualitative interviews reveals the mechanism that underlies the impact of meteorological factors on the amount of unserved food. Managerial implications are provided for hospitality firms to mitigate food waste in the workplace.

ANTECEDENTS AND BARRIERS TO SUSTAINABLE FOOD WASTE PRACTICES AMONG LOWER-MIDDLE INCOME HOUSEHOLDS IN MALAYSIA

Given the significant amount of food waste generated by households, reducing household food waste is critical to mitigating overall food waste and providing multifaceted benefits for humans and the environment. This study attempts to identify antecedents of food waste among lower-middle-class families in the Malaysian household setting and their barriers to sustainable food waste practices. Fifteen individuals from lower-middleclass Malaysian households were selected by convenience and snowball sampling and were interviewed using semi-structured questions. Four categories of food waste antecedents were identified (over-preparing, over-buying, dietary transition, and improper storage). The findings also led to the development of four themes that defined the barriers participants faced to minimising food waste (inadequate regulations and policy, lack of time, lack of education and awareness on food wastage, and lack of appropriate facilities). The findings from this study have important sociocultural implications for future studies, and they also add to our current understanding and application of how to reduce food waste in Malaysian households. More study is needed to find ways to test new ideas and interventions that could reduce household food waste, especially in Malaysia.

Organic agriculture in a low-emission world: exploring combined measures to deliver a sustainable food system in Sweden

In the EU, including Sweden, organic farming is seen as a promising pathway for sustainable production, protecting human health and animal welfare, and conserving the environment. Despite positive developments in recent decades, expanding organic farming to the Swedish national target of 30% of farmland under organic production remains challenging. In this study, we developed two scenarios to evaluate the role of organic farming in the broader context of Swedish food systems: (i) baseline trend scenario (Base), and (ii) sustainable food system scenario (Sust). Base describes a future where organic farming is implemented alongside the current consumption, production and waste patterns, while Sust describes a future where organic farming is implemented alongside a range of sustainable food system initiatives. These scenarios are coupled with several variants of organic area: (i) current 20% organic area, (ii) the national target of 30% organic area by 2030, and (iii) 50% organic area by 2050 for Sust. We applied the ‘FABLE (Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land-use and Energy) Calculator’ to assess the evolution of the Swedish food system from 2000 to 2050 and evaluate land use, emissions and self-sufficiency impacts under these scenarios. Our findings show that expanding organic farming in the Base scenarios increases the use of cropland and agricultural emissions by 2050 compared to the 2010 reference year. However, cropland use and emissions are reduced in the Sust scenario, due to dietary changes, reduction of food waste and improved agricultural productivity. This implies that there is room for organic farming and the benefits it provides, e.g. the use of fewer inputs and improved animal welfare in a sustainable food system. However, changing towards organic agriculture is only of advantage when combined with transformative strategies to promote environmental sustainability across multiple sections, such as changed consumption, better production and food waste practices.

Food Waste at Household and Social Gatherings: Drivers and Possible Remedies

Over the course of the food supply chain, approximately one-quarter of the food produced for human consumption is thrown away. According to the World Food Waste Survey, food waste created at the household level accounts for almost half of the total food waste. Agrowing number of people are becoming concerned about food security and environmental consequences, such as resource depletion and greenhouse gas emissions associated with food waste. This has heightened public awareness of the issue. Despite the fact that food waste happens at every level of the food supply chain, private households have been recognized as being the primary source of food waste production. However, there is currently a lack of studies about the factors that influence consumer food waste behavior. This paper presents a twofold study. In the first section, this paper maps drivers of food waste at household level along with the remedies backed by extensive literature review. In the second section, this study identifies factors which are responsible for food waste in social gathering with special reference to weddings along with solutions to prevent food waste in the context to social gathering through systematically reviewing empirical studies on food waste practices. The results of the study demonstrate that food waste is a complex and multi-faceted issue that cannot be reduced to a single variable; as a result, a more comprehensive integration of multiple academic viewpoints is required. The mapping of the factors of waste creation allows for a more in-depth knowledge of household habits, party organizers’practices, guest behaviors toward food, and the development of food waste control policies. Finally, we connect the factors that have been found with formulation of policy, business, and social responsibilities. This study will be a value addition in the existing pool of literature concerned with responsible consumption and sustainable practices.

Examining young Chinese consumers’ engagement in restaurant food waste mitigation from the perspective of cultural values and information publicity

Food waste is a serious problem with regard to social equity and environmental challenges across the world. In recent decades, a dramatic growth of restaurant food waste has been seen in China. This study integrated the norm activation model (NAM), Chinese cultural values (i.e. face saving and group conformity) and information publicity to examine young Chinese consumers’ food waste behaviors in a dining-out context. By drawing data from 311 respondents from Shenyang, Northeast China, this research finds that Chinese cultural values significantly influence personal norms and food waste practices. Meanwhile, publicized information could effectively shape cultural values and food waste behaviors. This study advances our understanding of young Chinese consumers’ food waste behaviors from the perspective of cultural values and information publicity, which sheds light on how to mitigate the food waste challenge for policy makers, relevant NGOs, food service providers and even individuals.

Consumer understanding of food date labels: preventing food wastage

PurposeConfusion over the interpretation of date labels is one of the main causes of food waste at the retail and consumer level. The purpose of this study was to determine consumer understanding of food date labels and to assess consumer perception of food waste based on these labels.Design/methodology/approachIt is a cross-sectional study carried out in India. Google forms were used to administer an online structured questionnaire. A total of 389 individuals participated in the study. The data were analyzed using Chi-square statistics and ordinal logistic regression.FindingsThe results affirmed that most of the consumers frequently looked at date labels while purchasing food products, but many of them did not have adequate knowledge of commonly used date label terms. In particular, respondents tended to misunderstand the “best before” date label as the last date for safe consumption, that is, a safety indicator that is not correct. The study indicated that lack of appropriate knowledge, misunderstanding of date labels and lack of complete information contributed toward unnecessary and excess discard of foods that may otherwise perfectly be safe and edible.Practical implicationsRaising public awareness, educating consumers about food date labels and pushing for standardizing the information on date labels by providing adequate guidelines to companies would enable consumers to better interpret the labels, and it would lead to lowering the unnecessary food wastage.Originality/valueThis study fulfills an important knowledge gap in respect of examining the food date label knowledge and its relationship with food waste practices in India.

Tackling Food Waste in All-Inclusive Resort Hotels in Egypt

Food waste remains a serious economic, environmental, and ethical problem, whether globally or at a national level. The hospitality industry is responsible for more than one-third of food waste. This study investigated the tackling of food waste in all-inclusive hotels from an employee perspective. It explored employees’ perceptions of the causes and driving factors behind food waste, and considered why food waste occurs, and how best to reduce waste to the minimum. A total of 47 semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers and chefs employed in all-inclusive hotels in Hurghada, Egypt. Critical insights that emerged from the findings include that guest behavior, background, and eating habits, along with the nature of the unlimited pre-paid services offered by all-inclusive programs, are the main drivers for food waste. Furthermore, the operation’s routine and the practices of all-inclusive hotels contribute to food waste, with a lack of technology employed to tackle food waste practices. In addition, inappropriate practices of all-inclusive hotel employees during the food service cycle contribute negatively to food waste. The low room rate package of all-inclusive hotels obliges hotel managers to purchase food raw materials of inadequate quality. Consequently, the final products are below guest expectations and increase the level of food waste. The findings also indicate that guest attitudes and preferences are perceived as key drivers of food waste. This research presents an examination of staff perspectives of the causes of food waste and how to effectively reduce it in the context of an all-inclusive resort. The results have theoretical implications and implications for practitioners.

Eco-Feedback for Food Waste Reduction in a Student Residence

Eco-feedback aims at increasing awareness of resource use to encourage conservation. A growing area of concern in sustainable living is food waste, and many new institutional waste receptacles incorporate waste sorting and recycling instructions for waste management. However, little attention has been paid to the design of encouraging awareness of waste in the home, particularly at the point of food waste. We explored the design challenges and effectiveness of novel eco-feedback techniques at the point of food waste through an in-situ study in a university residence. Our E-COmate system captures and visualizes domestic food waste data for more readily comprehensible and accessible information within a home environment embedded in an existing waste bin. Four E-COmate smart bins were introduced, deployed and evaluated for 8 weeks at a student residence in Canada. The aim of the study was to see whether a system like E-COmate could impact food waste patterns and awareness, and if so, to what extent it engages consumers. To explore its impact, a mix of methods was adopted. Waste audits were conducted to explore waste changes. Retrospective interviews were carried out to gain insights in residences' reflections and motivations. We show that E-COmate had a positive impact on participants' awareness of and behavior toward their food waste. Participants who had E-COmate installed in their kitchens showed overall a significant decrease in food waste and in particular a decrease of almost 32% in edible or once edible food waste, and a 69% decrease in generated compost waste during the last 2 weeks compared to the first 2 baseline weeks. Furthermore, while our control group showed an increase of 244% of waste of starches and grains toward the last 2 weeks (i.e., the end of term) compared to the 2 baseline weeks, the intervention group only showed an increase of 4.5% in waste of grains and starches. Eco-feedback further engaged residences in reducing food waste practices starting at the grocery store (e.g., by buying in smaller portions). In sum, eco-feedback as provided by E-COmate had positive impacts on reducing food waste. These findings are a result of increased awareness, the constant presence and immediacy of E-COmate served as a reminder, and their understanding of how much they actually waste as a group. Their awareness was reflected in how they adapted their shopping behavior as one way to reduce waste at home.

Assessing the Relationship Between Individual Diet Quality and Food Waste

This pilot study of 21 university students tested a novel food intake and waste diary and assessed it for the relationship between diet quality and food wasted. The study demonstrated the novel diary's potential to accurately record both individual food intake and waste, and correlations were found between certain food groups consumed and levels of waste. Knowledge from this study and future studies using the novel diary can provide information on food waste practices and help tailor education on food waste reduction.