Institutional work in food waste reduction: Start-ups' role in moving towards a circular economy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elina Närvänen ◽  
Malla Mattila ◽  
Nina Mesiranta
Keyword(s):  
Food Waste ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Waste Reduction ◽  
Institutional Work ◽  
Start Ups

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

2020 ◽  
pp. 146954052092625
Author(s):  
Taru Lehtokunnas ◽  
Malla Mattila ◽  
Elina Närvänen ◽  
Nina Mesiranta
Keyword(s):  
Food Consumption ◽  
Food Waste ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Sustainable Consumption ◽  
Moral Economy ◽  
Waste Reduction ◽  
Everyday Practices ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Circular Bioeconomy Business Models to Overcome the Valley of Death. A Systematic Statistical Analysis of Studies and Projects in Emerging Bio-Based Technologies and Trends Linked to the SME Instrument Support

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1899
Author(s):  
Fabiana Gatto ◽  
Ilaria Re
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Future Perspective ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Strategic Orientations ◽  
Start Ups ◽  
Valley Of Death

Reducing the environmental pressure along the products life cycle, increasing efficiency in the consumption of resources and use of renewable raw materials, and shifting the economic system toward a circular and a climate-neutral model represent the heart of the current macro-trends of the European Union (EU) policy agendas. The circular economy and bioeconomy concepts introduced in the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan and the Bioeconomy Strategy support innovation in rethinking economic systems focusing on market uptaking of greener solutions based on less-intensive resource consumption. In recent decades, industrial research has devoted enormous investments to demonstrate sustainable circular bio-based business models capable of overcoming the “Valley of Death” through alternative strategic orientations of “technological-push” and “market-pull”. The study highlights industrial research’s evolution on bio-based circular business model validation, trends, and topics with particular attention to the empowering capacity of start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to close the loops in renewable biological use and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The research methodology involves a bibliographic search based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach and the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Data Hub investigation to understand SMEs’ key success factors and start-ups of the circular bioeconomy sector. Eco and bio-based materials, nutraceuticals, and microalgae represent the most sustainable industry applications, leading to circular bioeconomy business models’ future perspective.

scholarly journals Perceptions of Food Waste Reduction in Sri Lanka’s Commercial Capital, Colombo

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 838
Author(s):  
Maren Reitemeier ◽  
Mohamed Aheeyar ◽  
Pay Drechsel
Keyword(s):  
Food Waste ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Waste Reduction ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Livestock Sector ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Open Markets ◽  
Management Challenge

In 2019, Sri Lanka introduced two policies that referred to food waste and the need to reduce it. To understand key stakeholders’ readiness in this context, this study analyzed the food waste perceptions of private and public sectors in Colombo (open markets, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, canteens, food caterers and key authorities). Interviews were carried out with operational managers and public officials, as well as other stakeholders who have roles in food waste redistribution and reuse, such as NGOs and the livestock sector. So far, the food-waste-related policy recommendations lack an operational inter-institutional home which can build on measures, like standards, regulations and incentives. Thus, most food waste reduction initiatives are initiated by NGOs or by the private sector, e.g., by larger hotels and supermarket chains. These entities were ready to lead by example, based on the understanding that urban food waste is an internal (financial) management challenge. Among smaller local entities, food waste was perceived more as an external issue to be handled by the city’s waste collection services. Although perceptions varied between entities generating smaller or larger quantities of food waste, there was general agreement that suboptimal capacities and mechanisms to quantify, monitor and cost food waste generation appeared to be obstacles for in-depth awareness creation and action. There was significant interest in communication platforms for cross-sectoral learning, win/win collaborations with reliable collection (reuse) services that are currently operational, such as those provided by piggeries, as well as surplus redistribution initiatives if food safety and related liabilities can be addressed effectively.

scholarly journals Moving from Niche to Norm: Lessons from Food Waste Initiatives

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7667
Author(s):  
Lusine H. Aramyan ◽  
Gonne Beekman ◽  
Joris Galama ◽  
Sandra van der Haar ◽  
Maarten Visscher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Waste ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Behavioural Change ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Success Traits

For a transition to a circular economy to take place, behavioural change from people who are part of the transition is a key requirement. However, this change often does not occur by itself. For systemic behavioural change, policy instruments that incentivise behaviour supporting circular food systems play a key role. These instruments need to be aligned with the environment in which the behaviour takes place. In this study, we scrutinise a case study with five initiatives on the reduction of food loss and waste (FLW) contributing to a circular food system, to understand how specific, well-targeted combinations of instruments as well as other contextual and personal factors can fuel the transition to a circular economy and the reduction of FLW. All the initiatives are taking place under the umbrella of the Dutch initiative “United against food waste” (STV). We use a behavioural change perspective to assess how initiatives that support circular food systems arise and how they can be further supported. Based on the case-study analysis, we arrive at five common success traits and barriers, and five key needs for upscaling. We conclude that motivated, inspiring frontrunners are of key importance in the initial phase of a transition process. However, once a niche initiative is ready to be scaled up, the enabling environment becomes increasingly important.

scholarly journals Design Opportunities to Reduce Waste in Operating Rooms

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2207
Author(s):  
Charlotte Harding ◽  
Joren Van Loon ◽  
Ingrid Moons ◽  
Gunter De Win ◽  
Els Du Bois
Keyword(s):  
Operating Room ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Operating Rooms ◽  
Medical Waste ◽  
Waste Reduction ◽  
Infrastructure Management ◽  
Expert Interviews ◽  
Hospital Waste ◽  
Observation Results ◽  
Taking Care

While taking care of the population’s health, hospitals generate mountains of waste, which in turn causes a hazard to the environment of the population. The operating room is responsible for a disproportionately big amount of hospital waste. This research aims to investigate waste creation in the operating room in order to identify design opportunities to support waste reduction according to the circular economy. Eight observations and five expert interviews were conducted in a large sized hospital. The hospital’s waste infrastructure, management, and sterilization department were mapped out. Findings are that washable towels and operation instruments are reused; paper, cardboard, and specific fabric are being recycled; and (non-)hazardous medical waste is being incinerated. Observation results and literature findings are largely comparable, stating that covering sheets of the operation bed, sterile clothing, sterile packaging, and department-specific products are as well the most used and discarded. The research also identified two waste hotspots: the logistical packaging (tertiary, secondary, and primary) of products and incorrect sorting between hazardous and non-hazardous medical waste. Design opportunities include optimization of recycling and increased use of reusables. Reuse is the preferred method, more specifically by exploring the possibilities of reuse of textiles, consumables, and packaging.

scholarly journals The Role of the Food Banks in Saving Freshwater Resources through Reducing Food Waste: The Case of the Food Bank of Navarra, Spain

Foods ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Josemi G. Penalver ◽  
Maite M. Aldaya
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Food Waste ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Waste Reduction ◽  
Food Banks ◽  
Food Bank ◽  
Food Loss ◽  
Total Food ◽  
Food Wastage

In the year 2011, the FAO estimated that food loss and waste reached one third of the total food produced worldwide. Since then, numerous studies have been published characterizing this problem and reflecting on its repercussions, not only social, but also environmental. Food wastage triggers unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation or loss of biodiversity. This study aims to quantify the water-related benefits associated with food loss and waste reduction by studying the Food Bank of Navarra (FBN). For this purpose, the water footprint assessment manual has been followed. First, the water footprint of the activities of the FBN has been analysed for the year 2018 (scenario with the FBN). A comparative analysis has been carried out between the scenario with the FBN and a theoretical scenario without the action of the FBN. This has allowed us to highlight the benefits associated with the activity of this entity. The FBN not only avoided the waste of 2.7 thousand tons of food suitable for consumption in 2018, but also avoided the unnecessary use of more than 3.2 million m3 of freshwater. As a result of the present investigation, it can be stated that promoting food banks, which avoid food waste, would be an effective way to contribute to the protection and conservation of water resources.

scholarly journals Food Losses and Food Waste Versus Circular Economy

2018 ◽  
Vol 18(33) (2) ◽  
pp. 228-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Parlińska ◽  
Abhishek Pagare
Keyword(s):  
Food Waste ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Negative Attitude ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Fundamental Knowledge ◽  
Political Contribution ◽  
Food Losses ◽  
Economic Nature ◽  
And Behavior

The article aims to introduce the issue of food waste and all attempts to prevent action. Business and politics are almost interdependent, and any discussion of an economic nature is not complete without a political contribution. The role of politics and politicians in shaping economic activities was and is widely discussed. In the article, there will be a discussion on the problems of food losses and waste in Poland as the member of EU and in India. The idea of the topic came during the tenure of collaboration between representatives of both departments. Conclusions of the study found some similarities and a lot of differences between the countries. Studies have shown that negative attitude of house-hold towards food waste is not frequently reflected in consumers’ behavior, despite their fundamental knowledge on how to reduce food waste. Properly selected and presented information will stimulate both consumer’s attitude and behavior.

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