Household Food Waste Research Articles

Towards a circular economy in food consumption: Food waste reduction practices as ethical work

This article explores the transition towards a circular economy in the context of household food waste practices. The research concerning the circular economy has mainly focused on engineering or the processes of production, manufacturing, business and industry. However, the transition towards a circular economy requires, in addition to new technologies, infrastructures and innovations, a societal change and a change in everyday practices. In this article, we address this by examining the everyday practices of food waste reduction in households as ethical work. We claim that the intertwined practices, institutions and policies of the circular economy create moral categories and responsibilities in everyday food consumption. Thus, the transition towards circular economy requires everyday ethical work carried out by consumers. However, our analysis also brings out some possible challenges related to this transition that has not yet been accomplished. Our research materials consist of 26 food waste diaries collected from Finnish households and participant observation in 4 leftover cooking workshops organized with the Finnish Martha organization. We adapt Michel Foucault’s conception of ethics, focusing on the constitution of ethical subjectivity in food waste practices. Moreover, we utilize practice theoretical approach that has been widely used in food waste and sustainable consumption studies and connect it with Foucault’s theory. Our results suggest that in order to understand the circular economy as a moral economy, it is crucial to note the moral complexity of everyday life that results from partly contradictory ethical sensitivities and practices.

Reducing Food Waste: Strategies for Household Waste Management to Minimize the Impact of Climate Change and Contribute to Malaysia’s Sustainable Development

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimated, one-third of the food produced worldwide i.e.1.3 billion tons is either lost or wasted throughout the food supply chain from primary production to final consumption. According to The Food Sustainability Index (FSI), the sustainable food system has three pillars namely food loss and food waste, sustainable agriculture and nutritional challenge. Food waste can be classified into food products that are lost during the production phase, unavoidable food waste that lost during the consumption phase and avoidable food waste that could have been eaten but lost during the consumption phase. There are several popular treatment methods of food waste that have been widely applied in developing countries including animal feeding, composting, anaerobic digestion, incineration, and landfills. The common treatment of food waste in developing countries is dumping or landfills. About 95% of food waste ends at landfill sites in which food waste is converted into methane and other greenhouse gasses that affect climate change. Therefore, reducing food waste contributes to abating interlinked sustainability challenges including food waste and food safety, climate change and stress to natural resources. This paper sets out recommendations on how to reduce food waste generation by using six strategies that are food waste separation or composting behavior, eating behavior, cooking behavior, consumer’s environmental knowledge of food waste, consumer’s environmental awareness and government policy on household food waste management, which can contribute to the nation’s goal for sustainable development.

Rapid in-situ composting of household food waste

Composting can be used to reduce the volume of perishable food waste and increase soil fertility. In this study, an innovative composting device was developed to rapidly crush food waste at home. A special thermophilic microbial agent (Consists of four different functioning microorganisms) was prepared from the local food waste and rotted wood to facilitate degradation. After composting for four days with our device and microbial agent, the water-soluble organic carbon to total organic nitrogen ratio (WSOC/TON) in the mature compost was less than 0.55, the germination index (GI) reached 89.7 %, the pH value was 5.57 and the electrical conductivity (EC) was 1984 μS cm−1. The mature compost met the soil quality standards and was qualified as planting soil. This techno-economic evaluation shows that our domestic composting model saves labor, transport and classification costs compared with the centralized composting system, and presents new disposal and management model of domestic waste. The total cost of our device was only $0.033 per kg for food waste. Taking the disposal fee saved into account, the net profit of the mature compost was $89.06 per year.

Quantitative sustainability assessment of household food waste management in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area

Food waste represents the largest fraction of the municipal solid waste generated in Europe and its management is associated to suboptimal performance in environmental, health, and social dimensions. By processing detailed multi-fold local data as part of a comprehensive and broadly understandable sustainability framework, this study quantifies the environmental and socio-economic impacts of household food waste management in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area based on priorities set by local stakeholders. Five alternative short-term management options have been assessed against the current system, relying on poor separate collection and incineration. Four options involve separate collection of food waste followed by biological treatments (home/centralised composting and anaerobic digestion) while one involves a mix of separate collection and centralised mechanical-biological treatment followed by anaerobic digestion. Among these, separate collection followed by anaerobic digestion coupled with effective nutrient and energy recovery is, according to our findings, the preferred option to improve the sustainability of the current system in all dimensions considered, except for the economic pillar due to the collection costs. Home and centralised composting as well as mechanical-biological treatment are associated to more adverse impacts based on our findings. The study informs local stakeholders and authorities on the potential consequences of their options, thereby allowing them to make sound choices for a future waste and circular economy strategy.

Waste prevention, energy recovery or recycling - Directions for household food waste management in light of circular economy policy

Waste amounts are growing with increasing wealth and population. To curb this trend and reduce adverse environmental impacts, food waste reduction has been sat on the political agenda, together with ambitious material recycling and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets.This study analyses the environmental benefits of two waste management systems for household organic food waste, namely recycling by anaerobic digestion (AD) and incineration. Recycling rates, energy efficiency and GHG emissions are reviewed to determine the environmental profile of the downstream systems. The avoided GHG emissions achieved by the respective waste management strategies are further compared with the ones achieved by food waste prevention strategies. The study combines a material flow analysis (MFA) assessing the downstream system with published life cycle analysis (LCA) results for the upstream system. The method was demonstrated as a proof-of-concept case study for the city of Trondheim, Norway.It was found that the recycling of food waste with AD performs better in terms of recycling rates and GHG emissions than incineration, provided that diesel is substituted by biogas. However, the energy efficiency of the incineration process was found to be slightly higher than of the AD option. Nonetheless, relatively small reductions in food wastage (15% and 30%) resulted in large amounts of avoided emissions, outweighing the benefits of recycling strategies. For mitigating climate change, the prevention of food waste clearly stood out as the most effective strategy. Norwegian authorities should focus equally much on household food waste prevention than on optimising food waste management systems.

From waste to fuel: Energy recovery from household food waste via its bioconversion to energy carriers based on microbiological processes

In the present study the bioconversion of dried household food waste (FORBI) to energy carriers was investigated aiming to its sustainable management and valorization. FORBI was either directly fermented towards ethanol and hydrogen or was previously subjected to extraction with water resulting to a liquid fraction (extract) rich in sugars and a solid residue, which were then fermented separately. Subsequently, the effluents were assessed as substrates for methane production via anaerobic digestion (AD). Mono-cultures and co-cultures of C5 and C6 yeasts were used for the alcoholic fermentation whereas for the production of hydrogen, mixed acidogenic consortia were used. Taking into account the optimum yields of biofuels, the amount of recoverable energy was estimated based for each different approach. The maximum ethanol yield was 0.16 g ethanol per kg of FORBI and it was achieved for separate fermentation of liquid and solid fractions of the waste. The highest hydrogen yield that was observed was 210.44 L ± 4.02 H2/kg TS FORBI for 1% solids loading and supplementation with cellulolytic enzymes. Direct AD of either the whole FORBI or its individual fractions led to lower overall energy recovery, compared to that obtained when fermentation and subsequent AD were applied. The recoverable energy was estimated for the different exploitation approaches of the waste. The maximum achieved recoverable energy was 21.49 ± 0.57 MJ/kg.

Does dietary knowledge affect household food waste in the developing economy of China?

Based on the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) data for 2004, 2006, and 2009, this study employs a fixed-effects model to examine the impacts of the dietary knowledge of household food decision makers on the quantity of household food waste in terms of amount and calories levels. Specifically, the interaction effect between dietary knowledge and community development is explored. The results indicate that the dietary knowledge of the household food decision maker significantly impacts food waste and calories loss. With the development of the local community, the impacts of dietary knowledge on household food waste and calories loss seem to decrease. The heterogeneous impacts of dietary knowledge on food waste and calories loss in urban and rural areas and among different income groups are also observed. The findings contribute toward a better understanding of the issues related to household food waste and calories loss in China in the context of economic development and residents’ increasing dietary knowledge.

Outcome Evaluation of an Empirical Study: Food Waste Social Marketing Pilot

Background:Evidence indicates behavior change is more likely when more social marketing benchmark principles are applied. Yet, transparent and clear reporting of the application of benchmarks to change behavior is rare.Focus of the Article:The aims of this study were (1) to verify the efficacy of social marketing in reducing food waste and (2) to enumerate and critique the practicality of applying social marketing benchmark criteria.Research Question:To address the research aims, two research questions were proposed: (1) Can a social marketing program designed with consumers reduce household food waste behavior? and (2) How are social marketing benchmarks applied to reduce food waste?Program Design/Approach:A consumer-insight driven social marketing program Waste Not Want Not (WNWN) was designed following the social marketing process and delivered to local Redland City Council residents located within the pilot area. This article reports a process and outcome evaluation for the pilot study and a critical evaluation of benchmark criteria application.Importance to the Social Marketing Field:This article demonstrates social marketing’s efficacy to reduce food waste behavior in households, and it critically evaluates application of benchmark criteria to assist future research and practice.Methods:In total, 314 local council area residents were randomly allocated into either a program ( n = 110) or control group ( n = 204). The program group received intervention materials and invitations to attend the 2-week program activities held in a local shopping center. Control group participants received nothing. The extent of social marketing benchmark application was examined for the WNWN program.Results:Outcome evaluation indicated that the pilot study reduced self-reported household food waste and increased perceived level of self-efficacy in cooking for the program group, but not the control group. WNWN successfully applied five of the eight social marketing benchmark criteria, namely, consumer orientation, insight, competition, marketing mix, and behavior change.Recommendations for Research or Practice:Given that use of more benchmarks increases the likelihood of behavior change, future research must advocate for complete application of the eight major social marketing benchmark criteria in program design. Clear operational definitions are required to improve practice and behavioral change outcomes.Limitations:Study 1 focused on individual feedback and self-reported data minimizing the possibility of generalization. Future research could employ observational methods and involve a wider array of stakeholders to increase generalizability.

Food waste declined more in rural Chinese households with livestock

The ongoing evolution of food waste trends and the intensification of livestock systems in developing economies play a critical role in shaping global sustainability. We explore the linkage between food waste and livestock systems at the household level and how this connection changed in China during the 1990s and 2000s when market liberalization was followed by policies that led to intensification of livestock production. We find the amount of food waste in all rural households declined significantly over this period. Households with livestock, which often use uneaten food for animal feed, created about 75% more food waste than other rural households at the beginning of this period, but experienced significantly greater reductions in food waste and significantly greater increases in animal protein consumption over the study period. We postulate that intensified livestock production led to less uneaten food being used as animal feed and, in response, led to more efficient household consumption including less discarded food. We reject the separability of household livestock production and consumption decisions prior to the onset of livestock intensification, but cannot not reject separability thereafter. We end by discussing the implications of livestock intensification for overall food system sustainability.

COVID-19 virus outbreak lockdown: What impacts on household food wastage?

The 2019–2020 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a public health issue. Lockdown is among options suggested to reduce spread of the virus. This study aimed to determining the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on Tunisian consumer awareness, attitudes and behaviors related to food wastage. An online survey was conducted during the first 2 weeks of COVID-19 lockdown. The survey collected information on demographic data, awareness and attitudes toward food waste, food purchase behavior and household food expenditure estimation; extent of household food waste; willingness and information needs to reduce food waste. This study included 284 respondents. About 89% of respondents claimed to be aware of food waste, and the COVID-19 lockdown would impact for 93% of respondents, their waste levels, and for 80%, their grocery shopping habits. Interestingly, the COVID-19 lockdown improved food shopping performances and pushed toward a positive behavioral change regarding food wastage: 85% respondents declared nothing of what they bought would be discarded, and most of the respondents have set up a strategy of saving, storing and eating leftovers. The most cited reasons given for discarding food were overcooking, inappropriate storage and overbuying. Consumers’ changes in food waste prevention might be probably driven more by the socioeconomical context of the COVID-19 lockdown (i.e. food availability, restricted movements, loss of income), than by a pro-environmental concern. Finally, our study pointed out the consumers’ needs of information for taking further action. In conclusion, our study can constitute a basis to further promote household food waste prevention behavior, outlasting the COVID-19 crisis.

Anaerobic co-digestion of condensate produced from drying of Household Food Waste and Waste Activated Sludge

Drying and shedding of Household Food Waste has proved to be an effective method for its valorization. During this process a significant amount of wastewater is produced through condensation of the generated water vapors (condensate). This study investigated the possibility of valorizing the produced condensate through anaerobic co-digestion with the Waste Activated Sludge (WAS) that is produced in large quantities during the aerobic treatment of municipal wastewater. In particular, the biomethane potentials of condensate, WAS and of a mixture of condensate with WAS were calculated. It was proved that the co-digestion of condensate and WAS can increase the methane yield of WAS by 72.5%. Moreover, anaerobic co-digestion of condensate and WAS was conducted in an anaerobic digester that operated in batch and in fed-batch mode. Almost 323 mL CH4/g tCODconsumed and 350 ml CH4/g tCODconsumed were produced during the batch and the fed-batch operation of the digester,respectively.

Quantification of Household Food Waste in Hungary: A Replication Study Using the FUSIONS Methodology

Household food waste accounts for the most significant part of total food waste in economically developed countries. In recent times, this issue has gained recognition in the international research community and policy making. In light of the Sustainable Development Goals of FAO, mandatory reporting on food waste has been integrated into European legislation, as a basis of preventive programs. The paper presents the results of research that aimed to quantify the food waste generated by Hungarian households. Research methodology was based on the EU compliant FUSIONS recommendations. In total, 165 households provided reliable data with detailed waste logs. Households were supported by kitchen scales, measuring glasses, and a manual. Based on the extrapolation of the week-long measurement, the average food waste was estimated to be 65.49 kg per capita annually, of which the avoidable part represented 48.81%. Within the avoidable part, meals, bakery products, fresh fruits and vegetables, and dairy products are accountable for 88% of the mass. This study was a replication of the first Hungarian household food waste measurement conducted in 2016 with the same methodology. Between the two periods, a 4% decrease was observed. The findings, for instance the dominant share of meals in food waste, should be put in focus during preventive campaigns. National level food waste measurement studies using the FUSIONS methodology should be fostered by policy makers to establish the foundations of effective governmental interventions and allow for the international benchmarking of preventive actions.

Level of Financial Literacy and Food Waste in Polish Households

The aim of the presented research is to show on food waste and determine the level of financial literacy of food consumers as a factor affecting the probability of occurrence of food waste in Polish households in comparison with selected demographic and economic factors conditioning this phenomenon. The main source of data used for analysis and conclusions was primary information obtained from own research (n=1021, PAPI method). To analyze the data, total statistical indicators, the one-way analysis of variance (the F test) and the logistic regression were used. The conducted analysis demonstrates that among the elements creating financial literacy, only financial attitudes determine consumers' inclination to waste food. The higher the score obtained from this module, the less food is thrown away from households. From the group of factors that significantly determine the occurrence of food wastage, financial attitudes have the weakest impact. The strongest impact has respondent’s education.

Consumer knowledge and behaviors regarding food date labels and food waste

Food date labels are commonly used by the food industry despite not being well understood by consumers. Consumers may mistakenly believe that food label dates are meant to convey information about a food's safety, but in many instances label dates are set by the food producer to indicate quality or freshness. Label date confusion may, therefore, contribute to household food waste, a growing social, economic, and environmental problem. Limited research has examined the impact food date labels may have on consumer food waste. The objective of this research was to determine consumer knowledge regarding three common food date labels and their meanings, and whether knowledge was related to food waste behaviors. An online survey of 1042 adults in the U.S. determined their use and knowledge of food date labels as well as their propensity to waste food as defined by disposing of food which would likely still be safe for consumption. The majority of respondents (81.6%) reported using food date labels. Only 57.4%, however, correctly identified what “best by, use by” meant, while 68.1% and 79.7% correctly identified the definitions of “expiration date” and “sell by date”, respectively. Respondents who correctly defined “best buy, use by” were less likely to throw food away if it had passed its “use by” date or was a shelf stable food without a visible date and were more likely to identify the “expiration date” as the only reason to throw away a food. The findings indicate that consumer education around the least understood food date label, “best by, use by” may help to reduce consumer food waste.

Comparing diaries and waste compositional analysis for measuring food waste in the home

Diaries have been used to obtain national and subnational estimates of household food waste (HHFW) in several countries. Furthermore, diaries have been proposed as a method for tracking progress towards goals that include HHFW reduction. However, multiple studies have suggested diaries substantially underestimate HHFW. This paper collates and analyses data from five studies in which diary estimates of HHFW can be directly compared to other, more accurate estimates from waste compositional analysis (WCA). This analysis finds that all diary estimates for HHFW were lower than the corresponding WCA estimates, with the degree of underestimation ranging from 7% to 40%. Four main factors are likely to contribute to this underestimation: behavioural reactivity (people wasting less during the diary period), misreporting (not all items discarded being recorded), measurement bias (not all items are weighed) and self-selection bias (those completing a diary being different from the wider population). The study concludes that a) diaries are useful for obtaining approximate estimates of HHFW and detailed information on what, why, and where food is discarded, but b) diaries alone are not suitable for tracking HHFW over time or evaluating interventions designed to reduce the amount of HHFW (without substantial further research).

Segmentation of Polish Households Taking into Account Food Waste.

Currently, food waste is estimated at more than one-third of all food produced, and the primary responsibility for this phenomenon is attributed to households. Therefore, it seems reasonable to take action to limit food waste and to raise awareness about this link in the chain. To develop and implement educational programs addressed at consumers it is necessary to understand the factors determining food waste in households. Segmentation is a tool that can help effectively reach consumers who are to the greatest extent wasting food which identifies homogeneous clusters of consumers. The aim of this study was to perform segmentation to identify consumer groups with similar behaviors in relation to food, with particular emphasis on food wastage. We carried out segmentation on a representative sample of Polish people over 18 years of age and to identified three clusters of consumers. The three consumer segments diagnosed differed in sociodemographic terms, i.e., number of adults, number of children, subjective assessment of the financial situation, and percentage of spending on food. The segment exhibiting a high frequency of discarding food due to too large package size included single and double households.

Food Waste Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behavioral Intentions among University Students

After policy change, educational programming has been cited as one of the most powerful tools for improving food systems and decreasing food waste. University students represent a population in which emerging habits, skills, and identity may be targeted easily and changed through on-campus educational programming. To understand how to best implement programming on impacts of food, food waste, and related issues, the factors that underlie students’ behaviors related to food waste must be understood. We analyzed factors that influence food waste–related behaviors within a university student population to understand the potential for improving targeted, school-based food waste diversion programming. Four hundred and ninety-five students were surveyed to: (1) identify self-reported knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to food waste; (2) explore underlying factors driving food waste–related behaviors through exploratory factor analysis (EFA); and (3) understand the interactions between factors within a regression framework. Participants reported that they most often left food on their plate because it did not taste good or they had overestimated portion size. A majority of participants already performed many food waste reduction behaviors, and were both interested in taking action and aware that their efforts could make a difference. Food management skills, compost attitudes, sustainability attitudes, and reported household food waste were correlated, in various ways, with both intent to reduce and reported food waste reduction behaviors. Opportunities for improving university-related food waste programming through this data are explored. See the press release for this article.

Global food waste across the income spectrum: Implications for food prices, production and resource use

There are few examples in the existing literature that address the quantitative linkages between food waste, food security, and environmental sustainability, at global scale. Here we develop a new panel database on household food waste at the national level based on the Energy Balance equation, including adjustments for changes in body weight over time. We use this to characterize the non-linear relationship between per capita income and the share of food availability wasted. By incorporating this relationship into a global partial equilibrium model of the agricultural sector (SIMPLE), we develop future trajectories of household food waste. We find that the emerging economies, particularly China and South Asia, are likely to play a key role in determining global food waste at mid-century. We also present several counterfactual scenarios that shed light on the implications for environmental and food security of limiting future growth in food waste. We find that the global impacts of these alternative pathways are greatly enhanced in the context of a more open international trade regime.

Consumers are willing to participate in circular business models: A practice theory perspective to food provisioning

Implementing circular business models in food supply chains is an organizational solution to tackle the issue of household food waste, converting it in feedstock to upcycle within industrial symbioses. Adopting literature on practices of food consumption as theoretical framework, this paper analyzes consumers’ participation in circular business models. A conceptual model of the emergence of food provisioning practices in circular business models is designed and empirically tested, through a survey, in order to analyze consumers’ willingness to participate in an innovative food provisioning mechanism with retailers. Respondents were asked to choose whether to participate or not in a proposed program, and their choices have been modelled in an ordered logit model. 88% of interviewees declared sorting organic food waste as a normal activity in his household. 78.9% of participants accepted to participate to the proposed programs independently of the type of agreement’s attributes. 14.49% accepted only some programs depending on the program type, while 6.61% of respondents choose not to participate to any of the proposed program. Findings outline the expected participant as an individual already engaged in tasks to cope with risk in food provisioning and having already developed a long-lasting relation with a retailer. The study reveals also the opposite effect of concerns about tasks related to take-back system, such as food waste handling, and social desirability of recycling. Focusing on the business-to-consumers relationship, the paper suggests to practitioners interested in circular business models the possibility to adopt innovative ‘food-product-as-a-service’ approaches. Recommendations can be derived for future studies about the relevance of practice theory in the analysis of consumers’ engagement in circular business models.

Behavioral and Demographic Antecedents to Household Food Waste

Researches about antecedents to household food waste generation are increasingly becoming popular. Various dimensions, such as food handling, purchasing behavior, waste management behavior, consumer values, the role of external cues and many other sets of predictors, including demographic variables, were identified by scholars as major influencers of food waste generation. However, there are conflicting inferences about the identified antecedents just as there remains no consensus as to how age, gender and income affect food waste. Moreover, there is limited number of literature on the influence of consumer values on food waste and in view of the local context. With the objective of augmenting extant literature, a survey of 180 primary purchasers of households was conducted, utilizing Partial Least Square - Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) as a statistical tool. Findings of this research reveal that food habits, such as food conservation and response to food condition the acceptance of expiration date-based priced and suboptimal food, are very important to determine the extent of food waste generation. Environmental concern shows a positive effect on materialism, which supports literature positing that people who expressed deep environmental concern do not necessarily have low materialistic values and vice versa. Environmental concern could be a normative belief, which is an individuals perception of peoples expectations that are socially accepted and desirable. Thus, the respondents may have an environmental concern because this is the right behavior, but this does not hinder individuals in satisfying their material life domain.