“Reduce Food Waste, Save Money”: Testing a Novel Intervention to Reduce Household Food Waste

Abstract

An intervention, which used elements of the theory of planned behavior, was developed and tested in a randomized control trial (RCT) involving households in the city of London, Ontario, Canada. A bespoke methodology involving the direct collection and measurement of food waste within curbside garbage samples of control ( n = 58) and treatment households ( n = 54) was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. A comparison of garbage samples before and after the intervention revealed that total food waste in treatment households decreased by 31% after the intervention and the decrease was significantly greater ( p = .02) than for control households. Similarly, avoidable food waste decreased by 30% in treatment households and was also significantly greater ( p = .05) than for control households. Key determinants of treatment household avoidable food waste reduction included personal attitudes, perceived behavioral control, the number of people in a household, and the amount of garbage set out.

Households’ Food Waste Behavior at Local Scale: A Cluster Analysis after the COVID-19 Lockdown

“…Their discrepancy could be attributable to a certain "positive unawareness", probably due to the fact that they consider food waste a significant waste of money. Indeed, one of the strongest motivators to reduce food waste appears to be money savings [69,70] and price consciousness [71]. Considering that the "red" cluster is made up of people who work and dedicate most of their time to professional activities-even during the lockdown, in smart working-it is likely that they know and attribute to food an economic rather than a social or an environmental value.…”

An evaluation of a consumer food waste awareness campaign using the motivation opportunity ability framework

“…These campaigns are considered information-based interventions, whereby information is provided to the target audience (consumers) to change their behaviors (Reynolds et al, 2019). Information can be provided in a mix of formats, including advertisements (Septianto et al, 2020), leaflets (Shaw et al, 2018), social media (Young et al, 2016), online platforms (Schimdt, 2016), or "swag" such as fridge magnets, postcards, stickers, and grocery list pads (van der Werf et al, 2019). However, the success of information-based household food waste interventions is mixed, with some studies demonstrating a 31% decrease in avoidable food waste (van der Werf et al, 2019), while others found no statistically significant differences (Shaw et al, 2018).…”

“…Information can be provided in a mix of formats, including advertisements (Septianto et al, 2020), leaflets (Shaw et al, 2018), social media (Young et al, 2016), online platforms (Schimdt, 2016), or "swag" such as fridge magnets, postcards, stickers, and grocery list pads (van der Werf et al, 2019). However, the success of information-based household food waste interventions is mixed, with some studies demonstrating a 31% decrease in avoidable food waste (van der Werf et al, 2019), while others found no statistically significant differences (Shaw et al, 2018). This study is the first to apply the Motivation Opportunity Ability (MOA) framework (MacInnis et al, 1991;MacInnis and Jaworski, 1989) when testing the application of interventions designed to reduce food waste and contributes to an emerging body of literature applying this framework in the field of food waste studies (van Geffen et al, 2020;von Kameke and Fischer, 2018).…”

Food Waste Reduction: A Test of Three Consumer Awareness Interventions

“…Shaw et al [26] tested the impact of information leaflets that emphasized the financial and environmental benefits of reducing food waste, but a waste audit found no statistically significant difference in avoidable food waste compared to a control group before and after the intervention. Van der Werf et al [27] tested a two-week information campaign consisting of messaging tailored to participants' economic self-interests. Households received information about reducing food waste in multiple ways, namely by means of a fridge magnet, freezer stickers, a postcard, a grocery list pad, a container designed to retain food freshness, and links to a website with food waste reduction tips.…”