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.

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Minimisation and management strategies for refurbishment and renovation waste in Hong Kong

Engineering Construction & Architectural Management ◽

10.1108/ecam-02-2021-0113 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Ann T.W. Yu ◽

Kelvin S.H. Mok ◽

Irene Wong

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Data Collection ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Government Support ◽

Construction And Demolition Waste ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Demolition Waste ◽

Content Type ◽

The Government

PurposeThe capacity of landfills will reach saturation in the 2020s. There are more than 50,000 buildings in Hong Kong over 30 years old and which may require extensive refurbishment under the Mandatory Building Scheme. Additionally, most new owners/tenants tend to renovate their premises before moving in. Hence, there is an urgent need in Hong Kong, to explore strategies and measures to enable the development of effective refurbishment and renovation (R&R) waste management for such projects. The objectives of this paper are to investigate the process of R&R for identifying the perceived barriers and thereby the strategies for minimisation and management of R&R waste in Hong Kong.Design/methodology/approachDesktop study, semi-structured interviews, site observations and document reviews were used as the data collection methods to achieve the objectives of this research. Considering the nature and characteristics of the industry structure, the snowball sampling process was deployed for data collection. Thematic analysis and content analysis were used for data analysis. Waste minimisation and management strategies for R&R projects were then discussed and developed by the research team and a focus group meeting was held to validate the research findings. Six strategies were then proposed to the government.FindingsR&R projects contribute 10–20% of the construction and demolition waste. The barriers to recycling of R&R waste can be grouped into six major categories: (1) lack of sorting and storage spaces, (2) high cost, (3) insufficient government supporting policy, (4) complicated recycling processes, (5) immature recycling market and (6) insufficient public education. Also, six strategies are proposed in this study, which include (1) pre-refurbishment audit, (2) development of recycling market, (3) sea reclamation, (4) incineration, (5) government support and (6) education and research.Originality/valueThe strategies and measures proposed in this research could most adequately serve as reference for the government officials, building professionals and academic researchers. Such knowledge would make possible the development of effective strategies and measures for minimising and managing R&R waste.

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Predicting household food waste reduction using an extended theory of planned behaviour

Resources Conservation and Recycling ◽

10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.05.020 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 101 ◽

pp. 194-202 ◽

Cited By ~ 106

Author(s):

Ella Graham-Rowe ◽

Donna C. Jessop ◽

Paul Sparks

Keyword(s):

Food Waste ◽

Theory Of Planned Behaviour ◽

Waste Reduction ◽

Planned Behaviour ◽

Extended Theory ◽

Household Food

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Analysis of Household Food Waste Reduction Towards Sustainable Food Waste Management In Malaysia

The Journal of Solid Waste Technology and Management ◽

10.5276/jswtm.2018.86 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 44 (1) ◽

pp. 86-96 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Innocent A. Jereme ◽

Chamhuri Siwar ◽

Rawshan Ara Begum ◽

Basri Abdul Talib ◽

Er Ah Choy

Keyword(s):

Waste Management ◽

Food Waste ◽

Waste Reduction ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

Household Food

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Avoidance of Food Waste from a Grocery Retail Store Owner’s Perspective

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13020550 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 550

Author(s):

Izabela Karolina Horoś ◽

Tonia Ruppenthal

Keyword(s):

Food Waste ◽

Animal Feed ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Food Products ◽

Retail Store ◽

Management Style ◽

Prevention Strategies ◽

Financial Loss ◽

German Region

The aim of this paper is to examine the causes of food waste and potential prevention strategies from a grocery retail store owner’s perspective. We therefore conducted a case study in a German region through semi-structured expert interviews with grocery retail store owners. From the collected responses, we applied a qualitative content analysis. The results indicated that store owners try to avoid food waste as this incurs a financial loss for them that directly affects them personally, as opposed to store managers of supermarket chains who receive a fixed salary. The main causes of food waste in the grocery retail stores in the region surveyed are expiration dates, spoilage, consumer purchasing behavior, and over-ordering of food products. The most appropriate food waste prevention strategies developed by store owners are those based on store owners’ experience and their own management style, such as the optimization of sales and management strategies, including precise planning, accurate ordering, and timely price reductions on soon-to-be-expiring food products. The redistribution of food surpluses as donations to food banks, employees, and as animal feed further helps to reduce the amount of food waste, but not the financial loss. This study enhances the literature by revealing that grocery retail store owners have the ability and are willing to successfully implement and enforce food prevention strategies in their stores.

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The Determinants of Household Food Waste Reduction, Recovery, and Reuse: Toward a Household Metabolism

Encyclopedia of Food Security and Sustainability ◽

10.1016/b978-0-08-100596-5.22448-7 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 567-574 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sally Geislar

Keyword(s):

Food Waste ◽

Waste Reduction ◽

Household Food ◽

Recovery And Reuse

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Examining Household Food Waste Behaviors and the Determinants in Korea Using New Questions in a National Household Survey

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12208484 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (20) ◽

pp. 8484

Author(s):

Sanghyo Kim ◽

Sang Hyeon Lee

Keyword(s):

Food Waste ◽

National Level ◽

Household Survey ◽

Integrated System ◽

Waste Reduction ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Volume Rate ◽

Food Purchases ◽

Household Food ◽

National Household Survey

Despite active international efforts to reduce food waste, there are only a few academic researches and policy movements in Korea. One of the many causes of this is the lack of relevant statistics on household food waste behaviors. This study is the first comprehensive study on the food waste behaviors of Korean households and determinants, providing, based on the analysis of the first representative national-level household survey, useful insights and policy implications for countries with a similar environment and situation to Korea. This study found that approximately 63% of households discharge food waste of less than 500 g a day, and the amount varies by region significantly, implying a potential possibility of food waste reduction by regionally differentiated strategies. It is also found that the amount of food waste is on the rise in Korea, and the most widely used volume-rate disposal system in Korea is public food waste collection boxes (29.44%). Regression analyses indicate that policy efforts should focus on raising awareness of the importance of reducing food waste; for example, by promoting campaigns to encourage desirable food purchases, implementing dietary education, and discovering an optimal volume-rate disposal system that is regionally specific. This study suggest that the Korean government should actively participate in international efforts, establish an integrated system in which stakeholders and policy makers can cooperate, develop indicators and set targets for food waste reduction, and encourage diverse implementation to develop policies tailored to domestic and regional environments.

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Integrated Strategies for Household Food Waste Reduction in Bangkok

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13147651 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (14) ◽

pp. 7651

Author(s):

Pongsun Bunditsakulchai ◽

Chen Liu

Keyword(s):

Food Waste ◽

Social Issues ◽

Developing Economies ◽

Waste Reduction ◽

Extensive Literature ◽

Waste Generation ◽

Urban Households ◽

Integrated Strategies ◽

Household Food

Urban food waste issues in developing economies have recently attracted the attention of policymakers, practitioners, and academics in the course of implementing the Paris Agreement and the SDGs. In our case study city of Bangkok, Thailand, household food waste generation doubled from 2003 to 2018, with a similar increase in per capita amounts. Using an extensive literature review, statistical models, and a questionnaire survey, the authors clarified factors influencing food waste generation and separation before disposal, and reuse/recycling activity in urban households. Results showed that pre-purchase checks can not only prevent food waste but can also increase the reuse/recycling of food waste. Citizens with higher levels of education and those showing more concern about social issues and global warming are more likely to separate food waste before disposal and to participate in reuse/recycling activities. Finally, this paper proposes a seven-stage action-based model of integrated strategies for improving household food and food waste management to prevent/reduce food waste generation as well as remedy existing policy gaps in Bangkok.

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

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.764715 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Daniela Mejia ◽

Manuel Diaz ◽

Andres Charry ◽

Karen Enciso ◽

Oscar Ramírez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Waste ◽

Subjective Norms ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Waste Reduction ◽

Household Food ◽

Relevant Variables ◽

Situational Predictors ◽

And Control ◽

Waste Food ◽

Perceived Behavior

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.

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PhD Student Experiences with the Impostor Phenomenon in STEM

International Journal of Doctoral Studies ◽

10.28945/4513 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

pp. 159-179 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Devasmita Chakraverty

Keyword(s):

Retention Rates ◽

High Achievers ◽

Student Experiences ◽

Future Research ◽

Impostor Phenomenon ◽

Snowball Sampling ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Research Findings ◽

Impostor Feelings ◽

And Mathematics

Aim/Purpose: This US-based study explored various facets of impostor phenomenon experienced during PhD training in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Specifically, the purpose of this research was to identify certain experiences that trigger this phenomenon. Background: Competent high-achievers who do not believe in their efforts leading to accomplishments sometimes experience the impostor phenomenon. It is characterized by the notion that one has fooled others into overestimating their ability, not attributing one’s accomplishments to ability, and living with the fear of being discovered as a fraud. Methodology: Data were collected using convenience and snowball sampling. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews from 90 PhD students were analyzed thematically. Contribution: Study findings contribute to a less-understood area of what constitutes triggers for the impostor phenomenon among PhD students in STEM fields. Findings: Participants described the following themes that triggered impostor phenomenon during PhD training: 1) Progress and public recognition, 2) Comparing oneself with others, 3) Developing skills: public speaking and scientific writing. 4) Application of new knowledge, and 5) Asking for help. Recommendations for Practitioners: PhD faculty, mentors, advisers, and administrators should be cognizant of the triggers that could give rise to the impostor phenomenon among their students. Professional development activities for students could focus on earlier and more rigorous training for improving scientific communication. Recommendation for Researchers: Future research should continue to explore if other stakeholders in academia such as postdoctoral trainees and faculty also experience similar stress due to the impostor phenomenon. Impact on Society: Institutes of higher education should continue to focus on improving student mental health and retention rates, alleviating some of the PhD training stressors by designing interventions that improve students’ mindset and self-efficacy. Future Research: Findings point to avenues for further research on how to support those with impostor phenomenon. Future research could explore the topic in other disciplines outside STEM and examine if long-term interventions could mitigate impostor-feelings, including the nature and length of interventions that could be helpful.

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