Evaluation of a community-based food waste campaign using a national control group

Shu, Yiheng; Booker, Andrew R.; Karetny, Jane; O’Keefe, Kyle; Rees, Katy; Schroeder, Lucy; Roe, Brian E.

doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2023.02.011

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Several prior studies reported successful behavioral interventions related to food waste (e.g. Shu et al ., 2023; van Dooren et al. , 2020; Shearer et al.…”

Section: Discussion and Concluding Commentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several prior studies reported successful behavioral interventions related to food waste (e.g. Shu et al, 2023;van Dooren et al, 2020;Shearer et al, 2017). These studies focused on educating participants or facilitating a behavior rather than changing it to a new one, which might explain why their interventions were effective.…”

Section: The Behavioral Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reducing food waste by simply measuring it: insights from interventions to reduce household food waste

Ramos,

Borges,

Domingues

et al. 2023

BFJ

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PurposeOvercooking and overbuying are two main causes of food waste in households. Therefore, this study tests whether two interventions, aimed at cooking planning versus purchasing planning, can reduce food waste in households by using self-report direct measurements. Because measuring household food waste can impact how much food is wasted, the effects of the mere measurement of household food waste over time were assessed as well.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 80 households was distributed into three groups (control, purchasing planning and cooking planning) and their household food waste was weighed over a period of 166 days. After the first 91 days, behavioral interventions were delivered to purchasing planning and cooking planning groups. Repeated measures ANOVA, linear regression and a two-level mixed model were used for data analysis.FindingsResults showed that the interventions were not effective in influencing the participants to reduce household food waste beyond the reduction in the control group. However, there is evidence of a mere measurement effect that caused household food waste reduction over time.Originality/valueThis study's experimental period is longer than most of the studies that tested behavioral interventions for household food waste reduction. This enabled the authors to assess the effects of repeated measurement and discover that measurement alone can bring behavioral change.

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“…Several prior studies reported successful behavioral interventions related to food waste (e.g. Shu et al ., 2023; van Dooren et al. , 2020; Shearer et al.…”

Section: Discussion and Concluding Commentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Behavioral Interventionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing food waste by simply measuring it: insights from interventions to reduce household food waste

Ramos,

Borges,

Domingues

et al. 2023

BFJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The theory of planned behaviour is a prominent foundation for intervention design [45,76], cited in nine of the sixteen articles. Other theories used were wider pro-environmental behaviour research [51,52], the motivation opportunity ability framework [47,54], and self-affirmation theory [49]. Similarly, but offering a different perspective, social influence theory [58] and social practice theory [33,50] were drawn on to incorporate social norms and influences on participant behaviour.…”

Section: Theoretical Underpinningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These theories purport that behaviours are influenced by the people and environment around us, not undertaken in isolation [23,77]. Two studies provided no theoretical basis to inform its design [53,54].…”

Section: Theoretical Underpinningmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Pre-Post Studies Testing Behaviour Change Interventions to Reduce Consumer Food Waste in the Household

Jobson,

Karunasena,

Nabi

et al. 2024

Sustainability

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Since the United Nations announced their Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 to halve per capita food waste by 2030, prevention has become an international focus. Consumers are responsible for a significant portion of food waste, and much of this waste is avoidable by improving food management routines and planning in the household. There is a growing body of research focused on developing and evaluating domestic behaviour change interventions which can improve these behaviours. However, evidence of intervention efficacy on a household level is inconsistent, and best-practice approaches for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners have not been identified. Furthermore, the magnitude of this problem across environmental, social, and economical aspects of life necessitates meaningful long-term change. Many reviews have synthesised household food waste intervention studies, yet there is a gap exploring whether new habits can or will stick. We identify 16 peer-reviewed articles applying behaviour change interventions in the household, with a pre–post design to measure food waste both before and after implementation. The review reveals a paucity of studies that evaluate intervention efficacy relative to their baseline, as well as a significant longitudinal evidence gap. Our recommendation for further research is for the robust replication of effective short-term interventions to be tested longitudinally. Overall, this review outlines potential areas for prioritisation to enable large-scale sustained household behaviour changes in the fight against food waste.

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“…The survey builds upon a validated online survey ( van Herpen, van Geffen, et al, 2019) as adapted and validated for US audiences (Shu et al, 2021) in which respondents are first directed to monitor discarded food over the next 7 days and then administered a survey a week later where respondents report waste from the previous week in 24 distinct categories. While self-reports of food waste yield estimated levels that are substantially (~40%) less than direct physical measurement of household food waste streams (Hoover & Moreno, 2017;van Herpen, van der Lans, et al, 2019;WRAP, 2020), this approach is effective at tracking changes in waste and identifying differences between subgroups of households with well-known variations in food waste levels (van Herpen, van der Lans, et al, 2019;Shu et al, 2023Shu et al, , 2021WRAP 2020).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Household food waste trending upwards in the United States: Insights from a National Tracking Survey

Shu

Bender

et al. 2023

J of Agr & App Econ Assoc

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Three successive administrations have supported the United States' 2015 goal to reduce food waste. Households waste more food than other supply chain segments, however, few data sources are available to track US households' progress toward this goal. We provide insights from the first four waves of a novel national survey designed to track such waste. We find a 280% year‐over‐year increase in self‐reported waste between early 2021 and early 2022, which militates against national goal achievement. We find households wasted more food during weeks they dined out and that sample households dined out significantly more in 2022 than in 2021.

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Evaluation of a community-based food waste campaign using a national control group

Cited by 15 publications

References 18 publications

Reducing food waste by simply measuring it: insights from interventions to reduce household food waste

Reducing food waste by simply measuring it: insights from interventions to reduce household food waste

A Systematic Review of Pre-Post Studies Testing Behaviour Change Interventions to Reduce Consumer Food Waste in the Household

Household food waste trending upwards in the United States: Insights from a National Tracking Survey

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