High Food Waste Research Articles

Can Sales Revenue Mediate the Relationship Between Market Share and Food Waste Management Practices at Restaurants in Banyumas?

Indonesia, with its substantial population, faces a critical issue with food waste. The country's high food waste generation is concerning and necessitates action for sustainable development. Banyumas, a region experiencing a rise in restaurants and significant food expenditure, is particularly affected. In 2022, the restaurant sector in Banyumas emerged as the second-largest business sector, underscoring its significance and the need for focused attention. To effectively address food waste, it is crucial for restaurants to understand the interplay between sales revenue, market share, and waste management practices. This research explores the relationship between these factors within Banyumas' restaurant industry. Utilizing a quantitative approach, the study surveyed 102 restaurants in Banyumas Regency and employed SEM-PLS for model testing. Findings indicate that higher sales revenue positively influences food waste management practices, suggesting that increased income enables restaurants to better implement waste management strategies. This insight highlights the need for government efforts to enhance knowledge and coordination regarding restaurant food waste management.

Factors Related to Food Waste Disposal Behavior of Students in the Dormitory in STIKes Santa Elisabeth Medan

Background: Food waste refers to food that should be consumed but is discarded for specific reasons. Factors contributing to food waste include neglecting the menu, preparing it more than twice a day, the appearance of the meal, and inaccurate perceptions of the food's taste. Reducing food waste can be achieved by valuing food as an essential aspect of human life and managing food consumption effectively. Based on a survey conducted in dormitories, the problem identified is the significant number of leftovers daily, ranging from 4-6 buckets consisting of vegetables, tempeh, and tofu, mainly because the food does not appeal to the students' tastes. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors related to the food waste disposal behavior of students at the STIKes Santa Elisabeth Medan dormitory in 2023. Methods: : A cross-sectional approach combined with correlational research was employed in this investigation. The sample consisted of 84 students living in the dormitory. Instruments used in this study included a Food Waste Questionnaire and Food Scales Questionaire. Data were analyzed using Chi-square to determine the relationship of each independent variable are Food Appearance and Food Taste Factors with the dependent variable is the behavior of throwing food waste.. Results: Results indicated a significant relationship between unattractive food appearance and high food waste, with 90.4% showing high waste and 9.6% showing low waste, confirmed by a Chi-square value of 455a and a p-value of 0.05. Conclusions: The conclusion of this study is that there is a significant relationship between the unattractive appearance of food and the behavior of discarding food waste by dormitory students

Factors Related to Food Waste Disposal Behavior of Students in the Dormitory of STIKes Santa Elisabeth Medan

Food waste occurs when perfectly edible food is discarded for various reasons. Factors contributing to food waste include menu neglect, excess preparation, unappealing appearance, and inaccurate perceptions of taste. Reducing food waste can be achieved by valuing food as an essential aspect of human life and managing food consumption effectively. Based on a survey conducted in dormitories, the significant issue identified is the daily abundance of leftovers, including 4-6 buckets of vegetables, tempeh, and tofu, mainly due to the food needing to meet the students' tastes. This study examines the factors influencing food waste disposal behaviour among students at the STIKes Santa Elisabeth Medan dormitory in 2023. The study utilized a cross-sectional approach combined with correlational research and involved 84 students living in the dormitory. The research instruments included a Food Waste Questionnaire and a Food Scales Questionnaire. Data analysis involved using Chi-square tests to determine the relationship between independent variables of food appearance and taste factors and the dependent variable of food waste behaviour. The results revealed a significant relationship between unattractive food appearance and high food waste, with 90.4% demonstrating high waste and 9.6% showing low waste, as confirmed by a Chi-square value of 455 and a p-value of 0.05. In conclusion, this study found a notable association between unattractive food appearance and the disposal behaviour of dormitory students regarding food waste.

Inadequacy of Meals Served and Food Waste in a Portuguese University Canteen

This study aims to evaluate food waste and the adequacy of portions served in a Portuguese university canteen. The sample included 10278 meals. Portions served and food waste (plate waste and leftovers) were measured through physical weighing. Portion inadequacy was determined, considering the Dietary Reference Values proposed by the European Food Safety Authority. The portions of all meal components served were inadequate. Meat, fish, salads and vegetables were those in the most inadequate portions (p < 0.001), with the quantities of meat and fish served being well above the recommended level (+77%) and the quantities of salad and vegetables below the recommended level (−37.7%). During the study period, 1253.6 kg of food was wasted, representing a daily average of 65.9 kg of food waste (20.8%). It was estimated that 126.6 g of food was wasted per consumer per day. Salads and vegetables represented the food category with high food waste values (41.4%), mainly from plate waste (29.6%). Our findings show an inadequacy in terms of the portions served for all meal components. High food waste values were found, for vegetable soup, vegetables, salads and fruit; these were the items most rejected by consumers, compromising the achievement of nutritional goals for the lunches served in the university canteen.

Motivations, changes and challenges of participating in food-related social innovations and their transformative potential: three cases from Berlin (Germany)

AbstractDominant agri-food systems are increasingly seen as unsustainable in terms of environmental degradation, mass production or high food waste. In an attempt to counteract these developments and foster sustainability transitions in agri-food systems, a variety of actors are engaging in socially innovative models of food production and consumption. Using a multiple case study approach, our study examines three contrasting alternative economic models in the city of Berlin: community gardens, the app Too Good To Go (TGTG), and a cooperative supermarket. Based on 15 qualitative interviews, we provide insights into their transformative potential by exploring participants' underlying motivations, the changes they have experienced, and the challenges and potential for future development of these models. We find that participation in community gardens and the cooperative supermarket is similarly motivated by social aspects and dissatisfaction with existing food access options, while TGTG users are more motivated by financial reasons. Our study shows that change is experienced mainly at the individual level, e.g. by building new relationships, changing cognitive framings, and learning (new) practices, especially in community-oriented settings. The individualization of change shows that these models have a rather low potential to lead to more systemic accounts of changes. Yet, they can prefigure regime change, describe resistance, and foster cumulative incremental change that may spill over into society. We conclude that in order to sustain this role and drive transitions, it is important to up- and outscale these models; and we provide recommendations on how these models can mutually support their development, establishment, and protection.

Tackling food waste management: Professional training in the public interest

The magnitude of food waste is a matter of public concern, particularly in the food service sector. This research seeks to examine the influence of employee training policies on food waste and its management, with a focus on restaurant practices. A total of 300 questionnaires were collected from restaurant managers and owners in three coastal cities of Ecuador, and the CHAID segmentation algorithm was applied to categorize restaurants based on their investments in employee training. Differences in food waste and sustainable practices among these restaurant segments were then compared. Three segments were identified: restaurants with low employee training and higher food waste in dish preparation; restaurants with high employee training exhibiting low food waste in premium food products, and restaurants with medium training and medium levels of food waste. In terms of implications, in view of the significant disparities in food waste levels and sustainable practices across the segments resulting from this study, we conclude the importance of restaurants' investment in employee training to promote sustainability. These findings are relevant in shaping environmental regulations and in facilitating stakeholders' decision-making.

Life cycle assessment and cost-benefit analysis of small-scale anaerobic digestion system treating food waste onsite under different operational conditions

This study employed life cycle assessment and cost-benefit analysis to evaluate the environmental and economic profile of a real decentralized small-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) system treating food waste (FW). Different operational conditions, including temperature, biochar addition, biogas engine efficiency, and FW loading, were compared via scenario analysis. Biochar addition could potentially obtain carbon reduction and save fossil fuel. Moreover, at high FW loading and biogas engine efficiency, biochar addition achieved 1–3190% better performance than the system without biochar in all the nine impact categories. The system under mesophilic conditions performed worse than ambient conditions due to high energy demand. All the current scenarios resulted in a monetary loss at US$ 480 k-681 k, while profit was possible if the capital cost and operator salary decreased significantly. Overall, operating the small-scale AD system under ambient temperature with biochar addition was preferred due to its potential environmental benefits and economic profits.

Biochemical, hydrological and mechanical behaviors of high food waste content MSW landfill: Numerical simulation analysis of a large-scale experiment

The complex process of thermal-hydro-mechanical-biochemical (THMBC) coupled degradation in high food waste content (HFWC) municipal solid waste (MSW) is the main cause of intense heat, gas, and leachate generation in the landfills, which could lead to environmental disasters. A large-scale indoor experiment on HFWC MSW has been done with operations of loading, heated mature leachate recharging to study the rules of degradation. A THMBC coupled degradation model is used to analyze the results in the first 400 days drawn from the experiments, to explain how recharge of heated mature leachate accelerated degradation process and how was the portion of settlement led by intraparticle water release. The numerical simulation also calculated the landfill gas that was not collected in the experiment due to operational defects. The results show that recharging the heated mature leachate allows the stabilization process to occur at least six months earlier and settlement due to intraparticle water release accounts for half of the settlement in the first 60 days. The research indicates highly coupled THMBC model can be used to analyze the complex process in MSW degradation, make up for the shortcomings of physical experiments, and provide theoretical support for the design, construction, and management of landfills.

Food waste ‘Warriors’, ‘Strugglers’ and ‘Slackers’: Segmenting households based on food waste generation and sorting behaviours

Food waste is a largely avoidable global issue with adverse environmental and economic impacts. Households are the main generators of food waste, with two main food waste behaviours contributing to the issue: generation and sorting. Online survey data from 939 households was used to segment households based on two measures of food waste generation (total food waste volume and the proportion of total food waste that is avoidable) and one measure of sorting behaviour (proportion of food waste sorted sustainably). Three segments were identified: ‘Warriors’ (39.6%), ‘Strugglers’ (19.6%), and ‘Slackers’ (40.8%). Warriors have low total and avoidable food waste and sort it sustainably (i.e. sorting into a kerbside organics bin, composting, and feeding to pets). Slackers have low food waste but sort little of it sustainably. Strugglers have high food waste and a medium level of sustainable sorting. These segments were profiled based on the Motivation – Opportunity – Ability framework with motivation based on the three goal-framing motivations (i.e. gain, hedonic, and normative goals) for reducing and sorting food waste between segments. These findings can help inform the design of interventions aimed at reducing and sorting food waste in specific segments of municipal populations.

Enhancement of anaerobic digestion of high salinity food waste by magnetite and potassium ions: Digestor performance, microbial and metabolomic analyses

The study investigated the effectiveness of magnetite and potassium ions (K+) in enhancing anaerobic digestion of high salinity food waste. Results indicated that both magnetite and K+ improved anaerobic digestion in high-salt environments, and their combination yielded even better results. The combination of magnetite and K+ promoted microorganism activity, and resulted in increased abundance of DMER64, Halobacteria and Methanosaeta. Metabolomic analysis revealed that magnetite mainly influenced quorum sensing, while K+ mainly stimulated the synthesis of compatible solutes, aiding in maintaining osmotic balance. The combined additives regulated pathways such as ATP binding cassette transport, methane metabolism, and inhibitory substance metabolism, enabling cells to resist environmental stress and maintain normal metabolic activity. Overall, this study demonstrated the potential of magnetite and K+ to enhance food waste anaerobic digestion in high salt conditions and provided valuable insights into the molecular mechanism.

Industry 4.0 and circular economy for emerging markets: evidence from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Indian food sector

AbstractThe linear economic business model was deemed unsustainable, necessitating the emergence of the circular economy (CE) business model. Due to resource scarcity, increasing population, and high food waste levels, the food sector has been facing significant sustainability challenges. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly those in the food sector, are making efforts to become more sustainable and to adopt new business models such as the CE, but adoption rates remain low. Industry 4.0 and its associated technological applications have the potential to enable CE implementation and boost business competitiveness. In the context of emerging economies facing significant resource scarcity constraints and limited technology availability, CE principles need to be adapted. CE could create a new job economy in emerging economies, bringing scale and a competitive advantage. This study explores the enablers of and barriers to Industry 4.0 adoption for CE implementation in fruit and vegetable SMEs in India from a resource-based perspective. The purpose is to develop an evidence-based framework to help inform theory and practice about CE implementation by SMEs in emerging economies. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts in food SMEs. The interview transcripts were first subjected to thematic analysis. The analysis was then complemented with sentiment and emotion analyses. Subsequently, hierarchical cluster analysis, k-means analysis, and linear projection analysis were performed. Among others, the findings suggest that Industry 4.0 plays a key role in implementing CE in SMEs in emerging economies such as India. However, there are specific enablers and barriers that need to be considered by SMEs to develop the resources and capabilities needed for CE competitive advantage.

Exploring the CaseScaling Up Sustainability: The Case of Big Wheel Burger

Introduction The fast-food industry is notorious for negatively impacting the environment with single-use packaging, high energy use, food waste, water contamination, and emissions. This case illustrates how one company is scaling up sustainability by turning profit upside down to ensure its community is benefiting from its growth. Students will get insights into the challenges, solutions, and benefits of operating and scaling a fast-food chain with sustainability at its core. Big Wheel Burger is trailblazing scaling sustainable fast-food restaurants. This case will outline how a business model can be shifted to positively impact the community while maintaining profiles, keeping staff on a decent wage, and engaging customers on the journey.

A closed loop case study of decentralized food waste management: System performance and life cycle carbon emission assessment

Food waste (FW) has become a worldwide issue, while anaerobic digestion (AD) has appeared as a widely adopted technology to recover energy and resources from FW. Compared to many existing case studies of centralized AD system, the comprehensive study of decentralized micro-AD system from both system energy efficiency and carbon emission perspective is still scanty, particularly system operated under ambient temperature conditions. In this study, an actual decentralized micro-AD system with treating capacity of 300 kg FW/d for a local hawker center in Singapore was reported and evaluated. The results showed that 1894.5 kg of FW was treated and 173 m3 biogas with methane content of 53 % was produced during the experimental period of 75 days. The methane yield results showed a high FW degradation efficiency (87.87 %). However, net energy consumption and net carbon emission were observed during the experimental period. Nevertheless, energy self-efficiency and carbon neutrality, even net energy output and carbon reduction, can be achieved by increasing daily FW loading and biogas engine efficiency. Specifically, the FW loading for system energy self-efficiency was identified as 159 kg/d for engine efficiency of 35 % at a high kitchen waste/table waste ratio (63 %/37 %, with covid-19 dine-in restrictions); while they were 112 and 58 kg/d for engine efficiency of 25 % and 35 %, respective, at a low kitchen waste/table waste ratio (31 %/69 %, without covid-19 dine-in restrictions). The carbon emission ranged from 156.08 kg CO2-eq/t FW to −77.35 kg CO2-eq/t FW depending on the FW loading quantity and engine efficiency. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis also showed that the used electricity source for substitution influenced the carbon emission performance significantly. The obtained results imply that the decentralized micro-AD system could be a feasible FW management solution for energy generation and carbon reduction when the FW loading and engine electrical efficiency are carefully addressed.

Feeding Patterns and Food Waste Behavior on the Nutritional Status of Toddlers

Food Waste is a growing problem. In household scale, Food Waste often considered as a normal thing. Food composition and less variant (quality) is one of factor who can affect to nutritional status of toddlers and Food Waste, if the more Food Waste produced by toddlers, the more nutrients are wasted in vain, so that the food intake eaten by children does not match the required needs. Toddlers who do not get the food intake that should be, able to affect the nutritional status and result in stunted growth and development of children. This research aims to determine the relationship between Food Waste Behavior and Feeding Patterns on the Nutritional Status of Toddlers in Tanah Sareal District, Bogor City. This type of research is cross sectional with purposive sampling data collection technique with 100 respondents. The statistical test used is Chi-Square. Based on the results of the research, it was found that in Tanah Sareal Subdistrict had a high Food Waste behavior of 69%. While the results of the feeding pattern in Tanah Sareal District have an inappropriate feeding pattern of 52%. There is a significant relationship between Food Waste behavior on the nutritional status of toddlers (p-value of 0.000) and there is a significant relationship between feeding patterns and nutritional status of toddlers (p-value of 0.000).

CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN THE FOOD AND DRINKS SECTOR - A ROMANIAN OVERVIEW

In recent years, the concept of circular economy has gained increasing traction around the world to create sustainable economic growth and reduce waste and environmental impact. Romania, like many other countries, has been working to adopt circular economy principles and practices in its own economy, with varying degrees of success. My research consists of a document analysis of the most recent Government Decision, no. 1172/2022 regarding the National Strategy for circular economy. I focused my research on the food and drinks sector, the main research objectives being to identify the problems and the solutions to the problems from the circular economy perspective in the sector mentioned. The main problems consist of low recycling rates, high food waste rates and the main solutions are found in education for a sustainable development to reduce the food waste and reducing the use of plastic in packaging and promoting the use of recycled materials.

A first-order kinetic model for simulating the aerobic degradation of municipal solid waste

Aerobic degradation models are important tools for investigating the aerobic degradation behavior of municipal solid waste (MSW). In this paper, a first-order kinetic model for aerobic degradation of MSW was developed. The model comprehensively considers the aerobic degradation of five substrates, i.e., holocellulose, non-cellulosic sugars, proteins, lipids and lignin. The proportion ranges of the five substrates are summarized with the recommended values given. The effects of temperature, moisture content, oxygen concentration and free air space (FAS) on the reaction rates are considered, and the effect of settlement is accounted for in the FAS correction function. The reliability of the model was verified by comparing simulations of the aerobic degradation of low food waste content (LFWC-) and high food waste content (HFWC-) MSWs to the literature. Afterwards, a sensitivity analysis was carried out to establish the relative importance of aeration rate (AR), volumetric moisture content (VMC), and temperature. VMC had the greatest influence on the aerobic degradation of LFWC-MSW, followed by temperature and then AR; for HFWC-MSW, temperature was the most important factor, then VMC and last was AR. The degradation ratio of LFWC-MSW can reach 98.0% after 100 days degradation under its optimal conditions (i.e., temperature: 55 °C, VMC: 40%, AR: 0.16 L min−1 kg−1 DM), while it is slightly higher as 99.5% for HFWC-MSW under its optimal conditions (i.e., temperature: 55 °C, VMC: 40%, AR: 0.20 L min−1 kg−1 DM).

Environmental, Economic, and Nutritional Impact of Food Waste in a Portuguese University Canteen

High food waste values have been reported in university canteens in different countries. This study aims to evaluate food waste related to the consumption stage in a Portuguese university canteen and its environmental, economic, and nutritional impact. Data collection was performed at a Portuguese university with about 7000 students. Food waste (leftovers and plate waste) was assessed over 10 days by physical weighing. The Ecological Footprint Accounting methodology was used, combined with an assessment of the ecological footprint. The energy and nutritional contents of meals wasted were estimated using the software Nutrium® 4.0. The economic impact of food waste was obtained considering the daily meal price. During study period, 4374 meals were evaluated, corresponding to 1599 kg of food produced. A total of 189.5 kg of food was wasted, being higher for plate waste (164.1 kg) than for leftovers (25.3 kg). The meat group presented the highest total waste value (78.1 kg). Daily food waste represented an economic loss of €140 and an ecological footprint of 0.1 gha. About 8% of energy, 11% of protein, 9% of fat, and 5% of carbohydrates were lost per meal. The high food waste values observed (about 13.4%) estimate a monthly economic loss of €3080, an ecological footprint of 2.8 gha, and a total food waste of 417 kg.

Green biohydrogen production in a Co-digestion process from mixture of high carbohydrate food waste and cattle/chicken manure digestate

This study was investigated biohydrogen production on the effects of different ratio of food waste to seed digestate and pH value from co-digestion process in anaerobic reactor. The seed digestate was mixture of cattle manure 45%, corn silage 25%, chicken manure 15%, and olive pomace 15% which was collected from the biogas plant in central Italy. It was found that the peaks of total biogas and the biohydrogen productions were 1355 ± 26 and 436 ± 10 mL whereas the biohydrogen yield was 50.4 mL/g-VS (45.8 mL/g-COD) with 43.33% COD removal rate, the bacteria to substrate volatile solids (VS) ratio was 2:1 where seed digestate to food waste was 6:4 under pH 6.5. As a consequence, food waste with a high COD concentration can be adapted C/N ratio by the cattle manure and chicken manure in the seed digestate which resulted in a high biohydrogen production. The food waste co-digestion system mixed with biogas plant digestate is one of approach to increase total biogas production.

Exploration of school meal food service management: a case study of a full-day school

This research was aimed to capture the practice of foodservice management and food acceptance for change unbalance dietary intake children in a fullday Elementary School. School meal food service management is a program for students to improve the nutrition intake An observation form, along with an in-depth interview was used to explore food production practice. Quantitative data on food satisfaction as well as food waste was also measured. Observation in food service management explained that low food acceptance was mainly found in vegetable products. The food quality, especially in taste and texture, became the determinant of the high vegetable food waste. Improving food service management production procedures, including menu planning and evaluation, procurement, preparation, and cooking, could be a promising strategy to increase food acceptance and to reduce food waste.

Harnessing Augmented Reality for Increasing the Awareness of Food Waste Amongst Dutch Consumers

Food waste is a significant challenge, and our societal behaviours play a role in the amount of food items discarded. Thus, an effective method to inform consumers about high wastage patterns may help reduce the amount thrown away. This research investigates how Augmented Reality can be harnessed to enlighten consumers and work towards addressing high food waste patterns. Yet research on this topic is still very much in its infancy. To pursue this solution, food behaviour data are employed to provide an insight into how much is wasted from 9 catering industry locations in the Netherlands. An Augmented Reality application is developed, where models of food are projected onto real-world environments to provide scale on waste over a 7-day period. A quantitative evaluation of higher-education attendees demonstrated the approach has potential to incentivise reduction in waste.