Household Food Waste Research Articles

Directly observing household food waste generation using composition audits in a Canadian municipality.

This study complements a previous study that combined household survey data with weights of curbside separated organics in the residential sector (Parizeau et al., 2015). Our findings reinforce the need for the collection of detailed observational data in household food waste audits. We revisited some households from the original study and a new set of households in order to conduct compositional audits on all three streams of waste, and to combine these results with survey data. In the compositional audits, we observed an average food waste per capita of 1.64kg per week, and avoidable food waste per capita of 1.05kg per week. Overall, 64% of wasted food was avoidable. The highest proportions of total and avoidable food waste came from fruits and vegetables (63%; 59%), followed by bread products (14%; 22%). Combining the compositional audits with survey data, we confirmed some of the behavioural and attitudinal patterns assessed in our previous study, including that household composition, food awareness, waste awareness, and convenience lifestyles may impact household food waste generation rates. Individual household audits provide greater insight into food waste generation than do curbside weights.

Impact of COVID-19 on food waste behaviour of families: Results from household waste composition audits

ObjectiveThe COVID-19 pandemic changed consumers’ purchasing and cooking behaviours, which may have resulted in changes in food waste. This study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on household food waste, as well as on purchasing, cooking, and food waste-related perceptions and behaviours among 19 households in Guelph, ON, Canada. MethodsFour-week food waste audits and online surveys were conducted in February–March 2020 (pre-COVID-19) and in July–August 2020 (post-COVID-19). Qualitative interviews were also conducted post-COVID-19 to explore participants’ perceptions of household food changes due to COVID-19. Food waste results were analyzed using paired t-test, while survey results pre- and post-COVID-19 were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. ResultsWhile per capita food waste did not significantly change (meanpre = 1.076 kg per week, meanpost = 1.080 kg per week), total per capita unavoidable food waste (meanpre = 0.388 kg per week, meanpost = 0.614 kg per week) and pre capita unavoidable fruit and vegetable (meanpre = 0.289 kg per week, meanpost = 0.427 kg per week) waste significantly increased (p < 0.01) at post-COVID-19. Total per capita avoidable other waste decreased (meanpre = 0.385 kg per week, meanpost = 0.179 kg per week, p < 0.05). The increase in unavoidable food waste may relate to households cooking more often at home, as reported in interviews, or shopping less frequently and buying more per trip, as identified in the surveys. The decrease in avoidable food waste could be related to the increase in serving of leftovers (p < 0.01), as identified in the surveys, or an increase in meal planning and inventory management, as reported in interviews. ConclusionFuture studies should investigate whether food waste-related changes in behaviour remain after the pandemic as well as any factors associated with maintaining of these behaviours. Interventions may be an opportunity to help households maintain these changes.

Household Food Waste in A Sample of the Libyan Community

Background: Consumer behaviors at the household level have an impact on the quantity of food waste and the economic resources of the family and the country. This study aimed to assess food waste in a random sample of the Libyan community. Methods: A questionnaire was designed for the study and distributed randomly through social media, short message, e-mails, and via face to face interviews from November 26 to December 21, 2019. Results: Forty percent of the respondents used a shopping list for food; while 15% of the respondents discarded food. The percentage of monthly expenditure on food was significantly (P &lt; 0.05) associated with shopping list, income, education level, and employment. Meanwhile, the quantity of food waste was associated (P &lt; 0.05) with education level and place of living. Moreover, the economic value of food waste was associated (P &lt; 0.05) with the shopping list. The bread was the most food waste commodity followed by vegetables and pasta. The quantity of discarded food accounted for 2661 tons/year with an estimated value of 163 million Libyan dinars/year. Conclusion: To reduce household food waste by the Libyan community it is required to improve the quality of bread and raise consumer awareness of the impact of food waste on the environment, economy, and society. This could be achieved through mass media extension programs as well as seminars and workshops.

“Stay at Home”: The Effects of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Household Food Waste in Colombia

Household food waste represents one of the main challenges for sustainable development as this directly affects the economy of food consumers, the loss of natural resources and generates additional greenhouse gas emissions. The COVID-19 pandemic and its mitigation strategies caused one of the most serious economic crises in recent decades and could become the worst economic crisis that Latin America has had in its history. The objective of this study is to analyze changes in food waste behavior during the COVID-19 lockdown in Colombia in 2020, applying the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). For this purpose, we conducted a survey with 581 Colombian food consumers, which examined the influence of intentions to not waste food, subjective norms, some situational predictors, questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the control of perceived behavior on food waste. The results suggest that the TPB can predict the intention to not waste food and, through it, the actual household food waste behavior, considering the lockdown in Colombia as an external shock. We observe that regarding the intention to not waste food, the most relevant variables are attitudes, subjective norms, control of the perceived behavior, and concerns regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. These variables increase the probability on average by a 0.8 Odds Ratio that the intention not to waste food increases, too. Regarding food waste behavior, whether it is considered ordinal or nominal, we see that the most relevant variables are intention, financial attitudes, and control of perceived behavior, doubling the probability that food waste behavior will improve. Based on the results, we provide recommendations for interested stakeholders that can help in the design of instruments for household food waste reduction.

A review of packaging‐related studies in the context of household food waste: Drivers, solutions and avenues for future research

AbstractPackaging has the potential to reduce food waste and contribute to the United Nations sustainable development goal 12.3. Yet packaging is also a household food waste (FW) driver, necessitating packaging improvements. Through a review of primary consumer studies on household FW and packaging published 2006–2020, this study mapped the effects of packaging functions on different food categories to identify packaging‐related FW drivers, solutions and research opportunities. Relevant studies are increasing, yet packaging yields less attention than factors including domestic routines. Many studies limit packaging discussion to the aspects attributed to wasted food, with date‐labels and overly large pack sizes the most mentioned. Suggested solutions by extant literature include clearer date‐labels and more pack size variety. However, research showing the effectiveness of these suggested solutions in households is lacking. Packaging formats and materials may affect packaging functionality and therefore household FW, but studies are lacking. There is therefore scope for household studies to collect more packaging related FW data. In particular, focussing on the effects of specific packaging functions on domestic food practices, with an effort to gather food‐group‐specific data. More studies in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Middle East and the Pacific/Oceania will provide insights beyond the current Eurocentric focus. These findings contribute to theory and practice within the focus of household FW and packaging literature, helping to extend existing research to support the development and implementation of packaging that considers regional differences in food systems, food routines and preferences for a better chance at reducing FW.

From social interactions to private environmental behaviours: The case of consumer food waste

Consumer food waste, like many environmental behaviours, takes place in private, and is not directly subject to social monitoring. Nevertheless, social interactions can affect private opinions and behaviours. This paper builds an agent-based model of interactions between consumers heterogeneous in their sociability, their initial opinions and behaviours related to food waste, and their willingness to consider different opinions, in order to assess how social interactions can affect private behaviours. Compared to existing models of opinion dynamics, we innovate by including a range of “cognitive dissonance” between stated opinions and actual behaviours that consumers are willing to accept before changing one of the two. We calibrate the model using questionnaire data on household food waste in Italy. We find that a limited degree of mixing between different socio-demographic groups, namely adult and young consumers, is enough to trigger change, but a certain openness of mind is required from more wasteful individuals. Equally, a small group of environmentally committed consumers can attract a sizeable share of the population towards low-waste behaviours if they show a certain variability of opinions and are willing to compromise with individuals in their close neighbourhood in terms of opinions. These findings can help design effective interventions to promote pro-environmental behaviours, taking advantage of the beneficial network effects while anticipating negative externalities.

What Nudge Techniques Work for Food Waste Behaviour Change at the Consumer Level? A Systematic Review

In European countries over 40% of food loss and waste occurs at the retail and consumer stages; this situation cannot be sustained and remediation is urgently needed; opportunities for change must be created. “Nudge” techniques have been shown to be effective in changing behaviour in areas related to food consumption (e.g., healthy diet), but the effectiveness of interventions using nudge techniques to change food waste behaviours remains unclear, despite a growing body of research. The aim of this review is to elucidate means to change household food waste behaviour using nudge approaches and identify priority needs for further research. Four databases, grey literature and reference lists were searched systematically to identify relevant research on nudges to change food waste behaviours. This search identified sixteen peer-reviewed research articles and two grey literature reports that were critically appraised using a critical appraisal checklist framework for descriptive/case series. Four studies deemed reliable show interventions using nudges of social norms, reminders or social norms with disclosure were effective in changing food waste behaviours at the household level, while disclosure alone, i.e., revealing environmental costs of food waste, was not. This review, unique in the application of a critical appraisal, suggests there is reliable information on the effectiveness of nudge for food waste recycling interventions when incorporating nudges of social norms, reminders or disclosure alongside use of social norms. If food waste recycling behaviour is considered an upstream measure to raise consumers’ consciousness on the amount of food waste they produce, this may have a positive impact on food waste reduction and therefore has important policy implications for food waste behaviour change at the household level.

Determinants and Prevention Strategies for Household Food Waste: An Exploratory Study in Taiwan.

Given the large amount of food waste coming from households, reducing household food waste is essential to the mitigation of overall food waste and the provision of multi-faceted benefits for both people and the planet. This study identifies factors and management strategies for the reduction of household food waste in the Taiwanese household setting. Using snowball sampling, semi-structured interviews are conducted to collect data from 27 household food providers in Taipei. The research findings identify four critical motivators and four barriers to minimizing household food waste in Taiwan. The most frequently mentioned motivator for the reduction of food waste is a convenient shopping environment, and the most important barrier is lack of knowledge for assessing the edibility of food. Additionally, four major prevention strategies are identified to help reduce household food waste: (1) planned purchase schedule; (2) skills to keep food fresh and longer; (3) understanding family preferences and leftover management, and (4) sharing additional food and co-procurement and cooking. The results of this study not only help improve the understanding and application of Chinese household food waste reduction, but also demonstrate the significance of its socio-cultural impacts in future studies.

Take it or leave it: How an opt-out strategy for doggy bags affects consumer food waste behavior and restaurant evaluations

Plate leftovers are an extensive source of food waste in restaurants. One solution to reduce this waste would be that consumers take plate leftovers home (i.e., use doggy bags). Yet, existing social norms in many countries and feelings of shame currently inhibit consumers from using doggy bags. The present research examines whether switching to an opt-out system, whereby consumers are offered a doggy bag by default, can decrease these feelings of shame and positively affect doggy-bag uptake. Yet, next to these positive effects, negative firm-related consequences may occur. Consumers may perceive a limitation in their freedom of choice, which can negatively affect their evaluations of the restaurant and its service staff. A series of five experiments (total n = 1166) shows that an opt-out strategy increases doggy-bag uptake more (on average 74% uptake compared to 27% for an opt-in strategy) than offering an explicit choice to consumers (average 49% uptake), but that an opt-out strategy indeed has negative effects on restaurant and service staff evaluations. Our research also shows that by (1) giving consumers a subordinate choice (e.g., a choice between different types of doggy bags) and by (2) providing friendly service when presenting the doggy bags, restaurants can ensure an effective doggy-bag uptake without detrimental effects on restaurant or service staff evaluations, or on household food waste. These findings provide new and valuable insights for research on food waste and on influence strategies towards sustainable behaviors.

Consumer Perceptions, Behaviors, and Knowledge of Food Waste in a Rural American State

Understanding consumer knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors towards food waste is critical for informing evidence-based programs to advance sustainable food systems. A lack of knowledge regarding consumer food waste at the local level limits the ability to inform place-based solutions that are locally relevant. We administered an online survey to examine consumer perceptions, behaviors, and knowledge of food waste at the household level in Montana, a rural state in the United States. The majority of surveyed participants (58%) reported that they waste 10% or less of procured food. Almost half the participants (48%) are willing to take additional action to reduce food waste. Social factors including guilt and setting a good example were found to be greater motivators for reducing food waste compared to economic and environmental factors. Most survey participants (80%) perceive it would not be difficult to notably reduce their household's food waste. Overall, participants' reporting of their household's food waste quantity is lower than national quantities while their willingness to reduce food waste was higher than findings from a national survey. This study highlights the need for place-based solutions that are locally relevant to reduce household food waste towards enhancing the sustainability of food systems for supporting planetary health.

Economic hardship, ontological insecurity, and household food waste

The experience of a downward change in one’s financial situation is so common that most consumers will experience it during their lifetime, and this prevalence has been compounded by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Limited research, however, has examined the impact of economic hardship on consumers’ food-related behavior. Using a sample of Canadians and Americans (n = 519; Mage = 38.4; SDage = 13.6; 46.2% female; 85% lived alone), we identify that economic hardship significantly and negatively predicts consumer food waste behavior, such that economic hardship leads consumers to waste less food. Conversely, we also identify a positive indirect effect wherein economic hardship positively predicts ontological insecurity (i.e., the aversive feeling of being overwhelmed and out of control), which in turn positively predicts overconsumption (e.g., overstocking one’s fridge or pantry) and in turn predicts higher food waste. This preliminary work opens the door to future work exploring a potentially rich avenue of research on the implications of adverse economic events on consumer food choice, consumption, and disposal. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Assessment of household food waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia: a cross-sectional online survey.

The Serbian government has taken several measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These measures may have led to a disruption of daily life and affected food-related behaviors. This paper investigates the state of food waste management in Serbia and COVID-19’s direct effect on consumer awareness, food consumption, and food waste behaviors. The study is based on an online survey using a structured questionnaire administered in Serbian from May 13 until June 13, 2020, through the Google forms platform. A total of 1212 valid answers were collected, mainly from female, young, and high-educated people. The survey results suggested that (i) household food waste in Serbia is low and there is a positive attitude toward food waste prevention; (ii) food waste increased during the COVID-19 pandemic; (iii) consumers reduced the number of shopping trips and shopped more than usual during the pandemic. This study contributes to a better understanding of consumers’ consumption habits and attitudes toward food waste to prevent and reduce it.

Covid-19 outbreak and household food waste: Evidence from Turkey

This study aims to examine changes in food-related behaviours that occur in Turkish households due to the Covid-19 outbreak and their effect on food waste amounts. An online survey was conducted and the survey included questions about socio-demographic characteristics, food purchasing, preparation, cooking behaviour, and food waste. This study included 610 respondents. 33.9% of the participants stated that there was a decrease in the amount of food waste during the pandemic period. More than half (52.2%) of those who think that there is a decrease in the amount of food waste stated that the amount of waste decreased because the food was consumed without forgetting/spoiling due to the increase in the time spent at home. Also, a relationship was found between changes in some food-related behaviours (frequency of food shopping, preparing/cooking, the characteristic of the food purchased, the person who prepares/cooks the meal, the time spent in the kitchen, the number of meals, trying new recipes, making bread at home, ordering to home and eating out) and changes in food waste. It has been observed that the changes experienced affect the reduction of food waste. In conclusion, the necessary initiatives should be taken to make permanent the positive changes caused by Covid-19 in food-related behaviour.

Generational differences in food management skills and their impact on food waste in households

There are generational differences in beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours with respect to food consumption and waste in households. Understanding these generational differences is necessary to be able to effectively combat household food waste. However, there is a deficit in studies that focus on these differences. To address this gap, we analysed survey results from 2187 households and interviews with 16 international experts to understand how food management skills and food waste behaviours are influenced by various generational groups. Findings support a significant negative relationship between age and food waste, that is, younger generations tend to waste more food. Increase in young consumers food waste is caused by lack of food management skills in the areas of shopping, storing, and cooking with leftovers. To encourage changes which support reducing food waste, it is recommended the messages targeting young consumers be communicated via combinations of intergenerational storytelling, web and smart phone-based Apps, and videos suitable for sharing on social media.

Less Food Wasted? Changes to New Zealanders’ Household Food Waste and Related Behaviours Due to the 2020 COVID-19 Lockdown

Food waste is a crisis of our time, yet it remains a data gap in Aotearoa New Zealand’s (NZ’s) environmental reporting. This research contributes to threshold values on NZ’s food waste and seeks to understand the impact of the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown on household food waste in NZ. The data presented here form part of the ‘Covid Kai Survey’, an online questionnaire that assessed cooking and food planning behaviours during the 2020 lockdown and retrospectively before lockdown. Of the 3028 respondents, 62.5% threw out food ‘never’/‘rarely’ before lockdown, and this number increased to 79.0% during lockdown. Participants who wasted food less frequently during lockdown were more likely to be older, work less than full-time, and have no children. During lockdown, 30% and 29% of those who ‘frequently’ or ‘sometimes’ struggled to have money for food threw out food ‘sometimes or more’; compared with 20% of those who rarely struggled to have money for food (p &lt; 0.001). We found that lower levels of food waste correlated with higher levels of cooking confidence (p &lt; 0.001), perceived time (p &lt; 0.001), and meal planning behaviours (p &lt; 0.001). Understanding why food waste was generally considerably lower during lockdown may inform future initiatives to reduce food waste, considering socio-economic and demographic disparities.

Exploring food shopping, consumption and waste habits in North Macedonia during the COVID-19 pandemic

Household food waste (FW) has huge environmental and socio-economic impacts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey was carried out in North Macedonia to explore perceptions and attitudes towards FW at the household level. A self-administered questionnaire was available online from 15th of May until June 30, 2020 and the sample size was 754. A very high percentage of the respondents (94.16%) expressed a high awareness of food waste and declared to worry about this issue trying to avoid food waste as much as possible. Moreover, the results showed that 41.38% of the respondents think to waste a low amount of food while 27.98% state not to throw almost anything. Meanwhile, 52.39% of the respondents believe that they do not throw away food that is still consumable. About 22.54% of them think to throw less than 250 g followed by those who think to throw between 250 and 500 g (18.04%). The survey showed that the most wasted food groups are cereals and bakery products, fruit, vegetables, and milk and dairy products. Concerning economic value, most of the respondents (53.18%) believe to spend less than 5 EUR on food wasted while 42.04% of them think to spend between 5 and 25 EUR. Regarding shopping behaviour during COVID-19, only about a half of the respondents (48.28%) stated to go shopping like they used to do. The respondents declared that they have bought during COVID-19 more vegetables (72.30%) and fruits (68.60%), which might imply that they are moving towards healthier diets. It seems that food wastage has increased during the COVID-19 for about a third of the respondents (34.70%). The survey showed that the COVID-19 pandemic affected food purchase, wastage and consumption behaviours in North Macedonia. Such a finding should inform future policies and initiatives relating to agriculture, food and health during the recovery period.

Determinants of household food waste reduction intention in China: The role of perceived government control

About one third of food are wasted or lost globally every year which causes the problems of environmental degradation, food security issues, and economic inefficiency. With the new mandatory source separation policy implemented in China, the main objective of this research is to identify the variables that impact household food waste reduction intention and to understand the role of perceived government control and perceived policy effectiveness from the perspective of households. Using a PLS-SEM model design, a questionnaire with nine constructs including theory of planned behaviors variables, perceived policy effectiveness, perceived government control, perceived consumer effectiveness, and environmental concern were answered by respondents (n = 3037). Results showed that the less well-studied variables of perceived government control are important in shaping shareholder's food waste intention. As expected, the theory of planned behavior variables, perceived consumer effectiveness, and environmental concern are positively related to reducing food waste intention, while strong perceived government control was associated with lowering intention in food waste reduction. This paper then extends existing understanding of psychological determinants of food waste by identifying perceived government control as mediator.

Implementation effect of municipal solid waste mandatory sorting policy in Shanghai

In Shanghai, the biggest metropolis in China, the source classification of domestic waste began in the 1990s but achieved little success over the past thirty years. Surprisingly, the compulsory classification provision of Shanghai residents' domestic waste since 2019 has been successful. In this work, the overall status, and challenges of municipal solid waste (MSW) management in Shanghai under compulsory waste sorting rules are investigated. We tracked the classification efficiency of municipal solid waste, physicochemical characteristics of separated waste, and the carbon emissions arising from waste disposal system. It was found that almost 83.62 % of household food waste has been effectively separated with high purity of 99.50 %, while the lower heating value (LHV) of residual waste was increased by 96.4 % compared to previous years. With effective waste classification, the net carbon emission of separated processing was reduced to 0.11 ton CE/ton waste. However, this system generated some negative outcomes as well such as the lower recovery value of metal in bottom ash and the higher chloride content in fly ash. Moreover, we have documented and discussed several challenges of sustainable waste management system in Shanghai in the text. In order to overcome those challenges, we recommend to: (i) establish a finer source separation and recycling system; (ii) develop highly-efficient resource recovery technologies of byproducts from waste disposal system; and (iii) propose optimization adjustment strategy for overcapacity in incineration facilities.

Impact of COVID-19 on Food and Plastic Waste Generated by Consumers in Bangkok

The crisis ignited by COVID-19 has transformed the volume and composition of waste generation and requires a dynamic response from policy makers. This study selected Bangkok as a case study to semi-quantitatively examine the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on consumer-generated food and plastic waste by examining changes in lifestyles and consumption behaviour through a face-to-face questionnaire survey. Travel bans and diminished economic activity due to COVID-19 have led to a dramatic reduction in waste from the business sector and in the total amount of municipal waste generated. However, the results of the survey showed that both food and plastic waste generated by households in Bangkok increased during COVID-19. The shift from eating out to online food delivery services led to an increase in plastic bags, hot-and-cold food bags, plastic food containers, and food waste. Reasons for the increase in household food waste during COVID-19 varied, with respondents citing excessive amounts of food and unappetising taste, followed by exceeding the expiration date and rotting/foul odours. These reasons may be the result of the inability to predict quantity and quality when ordering online, and inadequate food planning and management by consumers. To achieve more effective food and plastic waste management, home delivery services, consumer food planning and management, and the formation of a circular economy based on localised supply chains may be considered as important intervention points.

Characteristics of community domestic waste separation: separation amount, physical and chemical characteristics

With the improvement of people’s living standards and the highly progress of urban construction, the management of domestic waste has become increasingly important. To a large extent, the treatment and utilization of domestic waste depends on the physical and chemical composition of the separated waste. However, there is an insufficient research on the characteristics of community waste after mandatory classification. To fulfil the existing research gap, a community that has started with waste separation was chosen for waste generation and separation. Three ways including weighed by community residents, weighed by community cleaners and weighed by automatic electronic scale were conducted in the present study. From households, food waste contained the biggest component, 49%, while the residual waste counted for 32% and the residuals were recyclable waste. When weighed by cleaners, the average amount of separated household food waste was on the range of 0.07-0.23 kg/d/person. In addition, an automatic electronic scale was invented to realize real-time weighing, and the quality waste bin, the peak weight as well as the concentration time for separation were recorded. When compared to the generation of food waste, 6% to 56% of household food waste was separated. In addition, physical and chemical components were conducted for conducting further analysis. The results demonstrate that food waste contains a high purity with a percentage of 98.76%.