How Neighbourhood Food Environments and a Pay-as-You-Throw (PAYT) Waste Program Impact Household Food Waste Disposal in the City of Toronto

Pay-as-you-throw tariff and sustainable urban waste management: An empirical analysis of relevant effects

Sustainable waste management presents a critical global challenge, necessitating the development of strategies for waste reduction and enhanced recycling. This study explores the impact of pay-as-you-throw tariffs (PAYTT) on promoting sustainable urban waste management. Propensity score matching was employed to analyse data from 7583 Italian municipalities. The study assesses the effects of PAYTT on both total and unsorted urban waste and evaluates their influence on the quantity and quality of separate waste collection. The findings indicate that the implementation of PAYTT effectively aligns with EU waste hierarchy policies. Municipalities adopting PAYTT experience reduced total and unsorted waste generation, along with improved quantity and quality of separate waste collections. Consequently, PAYTT holds significant potential for widespread application throughout the EU, contributing to enhanced separate waste collection efforts.

How risk perception regarding the COVID-19 pandemic affected household food waste: Evidence from Brazil

Food waste is a worldwide problem. One third of the food produced in the world is lost or wasted every year. Most of this waste takes place downstream of the supply chain due to consumer behavior. This issue is expected to increase in both developed and emerging economies. With the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a range of challenges led to changes in consumer behavior. This study explores household food waste behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of the Theory of Planned Behavior. The risk perception regarding the pandemic was integrated into a broader framework, which was analyzed by Structural Equation Modeling. The sample comprises the participation of 452 Brazilian individuals. The results show that all the predictors incorporated in the model were statistically significant. The intention of reducing household food waste during the pandemic was found to be the strongest predictor of food waste behavior. Additionally, the pandemic apparently influenced consumers' perceptions about the control they think they have over food waste. This research has theoretical and managerial implications. From a theoretical perspective, this study identifies key predictors of household food waste by considering a period of health crisis in an emerging country. From a managerial standpoint, this research may provide a learning experience for future similar scenarios. Results may also motivate consumers to look for ways to reduce, reuse and recycle food waste.

From Food to Gods to Food to Waste

The present global food waste problem threatens food systems sustainability and our planet. The generation of food waste stems from the interacting factors of the need for food production, food access and availability, motivations and ignorance around food purchase and consumption, and market constraints. Food waste has increased over time. This is related to the change in how humans value food through the generations and altered human food consumption and food discard behaviors. There is also a lack of understanding of the impacts of current food production, processing and consumption patterns on food waste creation. This review examines the cultural, religious, social and economic factors influencing attitudes to food and their effects on food waste generation. The lessons from history about how humans strove toward zero waste are covered. We review the important drivers of food waste: waste for profit, food diversion to feed, waste for convenience, labeling, food service waste and household food waste. We discuss strategies for food waste reduction: recovery of food and food ingredients, waste conversion to energy and food, reducing waste from production/processing and reducing consumer food waste, and emphasize the need for all stakeholders to work together to reduce food waste.

The quantity and composition of household food waste during the COVID-19 pandemic: A direct measurement study in Canada

The COVID-19 pandemic may have amplified the environmental, social, and economic implications of household food waste. A better understanding of household food wasting during the pandemic is needed to improve the management of waste and develop best practices for municipal waste management programs under crisis circumstances. A waste composition study was undertaken with 100 single-family households across the city of London, Ontario, Canada to determine the quantity and composition of household food waste disposed in June 2020, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examines how household demographic, socioeconomic, and neighbourhood food environment characteristics influence household food wasting. On average, each household sent 2.81 kg of food waste to landfill per week, of which 52% was classified as avoidable food waste and 48% as unavoidable food waste. The quantity and composition of household food waste was found to be strongly influenced by the number of people and children in a household, and somewhat influenced by socioeconomic factors and neighbourhood food environment characteristics, including the availability, density, and proximity of retail food outlets.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Using Post-Kerbside Organics Treatment Systems to Engage Australian Communities with Pro-Environmental Household Food Waste Behaviours

Dealing with the wicked problem of global food waste and loss is a complex and challenging area. In Australia, increased political will has landed the diversion of domestic food waste from landfill squarely at the feet of local government (councils), often requiring significant change to kerbside collections systems. This paper discusses how post-kerbside household food waste treatment systems can encourage pro-environmental behaviours. To achieve this, current food waste literature is examined against kerbside domestic waste collection measurable outcomes (diversion rates, system uptake and contamination rates). The hypothesis is that specific interventions can establish, or rebuild, community trust, responsibility and pro-environmental behaviours around food waste avoidance and diversion. Two post-kerbside systems—commercial composting and anaerobic digestion—provided the framework. Two themes emerged from the study: (1) the benefits of connecting the community with the interactions of household food waste inputs with post-treatment outputs (compost, soil conditioners, digestates and biogases); and (2) providing engaged communities with pathways for sustainable, pro-environmental actions whilst normalizing correct kerbside food waste recycling for the less engaged (habitual behaviours, knowledge and cooperation). The paper contributes to understanding how councils can connect their communities with the issues of household food waste.

Weight-based pay-as-you-throw pricing model: Encouraging sorting in households through waste fees

Municipal solid waste is associated with different systemic challenges, such as climate change, resource scarcity, and ocean plastic pollution. European countries are striving towards more circular material use and the European Commission has advocated the use of economic incentives to boost recycling. The pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) scheme is an economic instrument that applies the 'polluter pays' principle by charging for waste according to the actual amount of generated waste. Volume-based PAYT fees have shown to be potentially less effective in waste prevention and recycling than weight-based fees. This paper illustrates how waste management operators can price residual waste with weight-based fees that encourage recycling, are fair with respect to service levels, and cover the current income for municipal waste operators. The result, obtained by forming equations satisfying the above conditions, is a model with a linear, discrete price function, where the price of the residual waste generated by the citizen is a function of the service level. This model encourages efficient source separation through internal subsidies, wherein a citizen can decrease the price of household waste by 32% if they increase the sorting efficiency from a default of 40% to 80% efficiency. The application of the model was illustrated in a case example. The model developed in this study can be used to implement weight-based PAYT schemes locally, thereby supporting the formulation of waste management systems that facilitate waste reduction and recycling.

Familiarity breeds acceptance: Predictors of residents' support for curbside food waste collection in a city with green bin and a city without

Food waste remains a high priority greenhouse gas (GHG) emission problem and household curbside collection - green bin¹ - with mass treatment is often adopted as a viable solution for GHG reduction. The aim of this study is to explore attitudinal and situational predictors of support for residential curbside green bin programs. Using responses to 517 household surveys from the mid-sized Canadian cities of London, Ontario (proposed green bin program) and Kitchener-Waterloo (KW), Ontario (operating green bin program for 10+ years) comparison of means t-tests, correlations and linear regression are used to test five hypotheses derived from the food waste and waste diversion literatures that predict green bin support: situational factors, current food wasting, theory of planned behaviour attitudes, concern that green bin encourages food wasting, and concern that food waste ends up in the garbage regardless of green bin. There is some support for all five hypotheses. Residents in Kitchener-Waterloo were significantly more supportive (83%) than those in London (65%). While residents in both communities are supportive because of the perceived convenience and environmental benefits of the green bin, the number of regression model predictors is greater in London (16 compared to 9 for Kitchener-Waterloo). The findings overall suggest sustained municipal education at the implementation stage may lead to positive resident habituation to green bin and thus, durable public buy-in.

Household Food Consumption and Wastage during the COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak: A Comparison between Peru and Brazil

The COVID-19 pandemic has represented a major global challenge. In Latin America, both Brazil and Peru reported the highest levels of impact in terms of proportional infection and death rates. Within this context, this study sought to compare food consumption and wastage patterns in Peruvian and Brazilian households. For these purposes, the authors conducted a quantitative research study based on a self-reported online survey submitted during the pandemic outbreak. Results revealed that the intention of reducing food wastage and implementing leftover management routines are related to the economic value of wasted food. In addition, in both countries, shopping lists are used as planning elements, and food purchases are influenced by on-sale products. Leftover management is also similar in both countries, and the expiration date on the label is the most commonly used criterion for consuming or discarding food items. Nevertheless, within the framework of the health and economic crisis generated, opportunities for change toward the adoption of smarter and more sustainable purchasing behaviors are emerging for both households and companies, in addition to giving equal importance to environmental, social, and economic benefits. This research study provided insights into food consumption and food wastage behaviors in times of crisis, such as a pandemic.

Household Food Waste from an International Perspective

The food waste debate has flourished during the last years, leading to an impressive increase in the number of scientific publications [...]

Reducing Water Scarcity by Reducing Food Loss and Waste

Water scarcity is a pervasive threat to society that is expected to intensify alongside a growing and more affluent population and a changing climate. In this paper, we review the existing literature to assess the potential of lessening water scarcity by reducing food loss and waste. Existing studies reveal the scope of food loss and waste and its accompanying impact on water resources, thereby providing a foundation for policy action. We highlight existing or proposed food loss and waste reduction measures and review available evidence concerning their impact on water resources. Our review reveals that there is a deficit of research that can guide specific policy interventions aimed at mitigating water scarcity by reducing food loss and waste. Instead, the last decade of research has primarily focused on quantifying the current water footprint of food loss and waste for different locations, points within the supply chain, and food groups. Yet, the degree of uncertainty inherent in these estimates, their lack of precision, and several simplifying assumptions make it difficult to translate this research into robust policy measures to reduce the environmental burden of food loss and waste. We conclude by advancing a research agenda that will (i) quantify and reduce uncertainty through enhanced data collection and methods; (ii) holistically assess policy measures, including system level impacts and feedback; (iii) develop methods and technologies for transparent supply chain tracing. Together, advances in these areas will guide and ground food loss and waste policy toward reducing water scarcity.