TY - JOUR
T1 - Waste watchers
T2 - A food waste reduction intervention among households in Arizona
AU - Wharton, Christopher
AU - Vizcaino, Maricarmen
AU - Berardy, Andrew
AU - Opejin, Adenike
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was made possible thanks to a partnership between the Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Service (RMWSSS) at Arizona State University (ASU) and the City of Phoenix, grant #FP229. The authors gratefully acknowledge support of this work through a grant by ‘The Global KAITEKI Center’, a research alliance between Arizona State University and The KAITEKI Institute of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020
PY - 2021/1
Y1 - 2021/1
N2 - Food waste is a globally significant issue, contributing to financial losses and adversely impacting the environment across the supply chain. In developed countries, the issue is especially problematic among consumers. The present study conducted a novel, evidence-based and theoretically founded household food waste intervention designed to explore how a multifaceted educational approach could impact food waste generated in the home. Households in the City of Phoenix, AZ, USA, were recruited to participate in the study (N = 53). Enrolled participants completed a baseline week, a 5-week intervention, and a follow-up week. Education and strategic information were delivered via a website specifically designed for this study, presenting home strategies for food waste reduction in a variety of formats (e.g. podcasts, infographics, videos). Participants were trained on how to properly collect, weigh, and report their weekly household food waste throughout the duration of the study. Participants also completed a series of surveys on food waste behaviors and behavior change constructs pre- and post- intervention. Household food waste showed a significant decrease from baseline to follow-up (p = .008), from week 1 to follow-up (p = .017), and from week 2 to follow-up (p = .001). Also, a significant improvement in all behavior change constructs was observed (p =0.004 – 0.000) by the end of the study, as well as an association between household food waste and behavior change constructs (rs = -0.28 – -0.42). The present study demonstrated that an educational intervention delivered virtually was effective in reducing food waste by 27.85% among participating households.
AB - Food waste is a globally significant issue, contributing to financial losses and adversely impacting the environment across the supply chain. In developed countries, the issue is especially problematic among consumers. The present study conducted a novel, evidence-based and theoretically founded household food waste intervention designed to explore how a multifaceted educational approach could impact food waste generated in the home. Households in the City of Phoenix, AZ, USA, were recruited to participate in the study (N = 53). Enrolled participants completed a baseline week, a 5-week intervention, and a follow-up week. Education and strategic information were delivered via a website specifically designed for this study, presenting home strategies for food waste reduction in a variety of formats (e.g. podcasts, infographics, videos). Participants were trained on how to properly collect, weigh, and report their weekly household food waste throughout the duration of the study. Participants also completed a series of surveys on food waste behaviors and behavior change constructs pre- and post- intervention. Household food waste showed a significant decrease from baseline to follow-up (p = .008), from week 1 to follow-up (p = .017), and from week 2 to follow-up (p = .001). Also, a significant improvement in all behavior change constructs was observed (p =0.004 – 0.000) by the end of the study, as well as an association between household food waste and behavior change constructs (rs = -0.28 – -0.42). The present study demonstrated that an educational intervention delivered virtually was effective in reducing food waste by 27.85% among participating households.
KW - Behavior change
KW - Household food waste
KW - Sustainability
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U2 - 10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105109
DO - 10.1016/j.resconrec.2020.105109
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85089513591
SN - 0921-3449
VL - 164
JO - Resources, Conservation and Recycling
JF - Resources, Conservation and Recycling
M1 - 105109
ER -