IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i11p4702-d369146.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Characteristics and Determinants of Domestic Food Waste: A Representative Diary Study across Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Ronja Herzberg

    (Thünen Institute of Rural Studies, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany)

  • Thomas G. Schmidt

    (Thünen Institute of Rural Studies, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany)

  • Felicitas Schneider

    (Thünen Institute of Market Analysis, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany)

Abstract

As it is the case in many industrialized countries, household food waste accounts for a large share of total food waste in Germany. Within this study, the characteristics of edible and inedible domestic food waste, the reasons for discarding food and the potential influence of socio-demographic factors on food waste generation are assessed. A data set of 6853 households who participated in a diary study in 2016 and 2017 was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics, parametric tests, and linear regression. The results indicate that perishable products such as vegetables, fruits, and bread are mainly affected by disposal. Moreover, household food waste occurs due to quantity problems at purchase for small households and quantity problems at home for larger households and households with children. Despite statistically significant differences in food waste amounts between household lifecycle stages, age of the head of household, household size, and size category of the municipality, socio-demographic factors have a limited power in predicting a household’s food waste level. The study has important implications for food waste policy and research regarding the issues of food waste prevention measures, quantification methodologies, and monitoring implementation.

Suggested Citation

  • Ronja Herzberg & Thomas G. Schmidt & Felicitas Schneider, 2020. "Characteristics and Determinants of Domestic Food Waste: A Representative Diary Study across Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-17, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:11:p:4702-:d:369146
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/11/4702/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/11/4702/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cecere, Grazia & Mancinelli, Susanna & Mazzanti, Massimiliano, 2014. "Waste prevention and social preferences: the role of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 163-176.
    2. Schmidt, Thomas G. & Baumgardt, Sandra & Blumenthal, Antonia & Burdick, Bernhard & Claupein, Erika & Dirksmeyer, Walter & Hafner, Gerold & Klockgether, Kathrin & Koch, Franziska & Leverenz, Dominik & , 2019. "Wege zur Reduzierung von Lebensmittelabfällen - Pathways to reduce food waste (REFOWAS): Maßnahmen, Bewertungsrahmen und Analysewerkzeuge sowie zukunftsfähige Ansätze für einen nachhaltigen Umgang mit," Thünen Reports 73,1, Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries.
    3. Secondi, Luca & Principato, Ludovica & Laureti, Tiziana, 2015. "Household food waste behaviour in EU-27 countries: A multilevel analysis," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 25-40.
    4. Schmidt, Thomas G. & Baumgardt, Sandra & Blumenthal, Antonia & Burdick, Bernhard & Claupein, Erika & Dirksmeyer, Walter & Hafner, Gerold & Klockgether, Kathrin & Koch, Franziska & Leverenz, Dominik & , 2019. "Wege zur Reduzierung von Lebensmittelabfällen - Pathways to reduce food waste (REFOWAS): Maßnahmen, Bewertungsrahmen und Analysewerkzeuge sowie zukunftsfähige Ansätze für einen nachhaltigen Umgang mit," Thünen Reports 73,2, Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries.
    5. Juliane Jörissen & Carmen Priefer & Klaus-Rainer Bräutigam, 2015. "Food Waste Generation at Household Level: Results of a Survey among Employees of Two European Research Centers in Italy and Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-21, March.
    6. Claudia Giordano & Fabrizio Alboni & Luca Falasconi, 2019. "Quantities, Determinants, and Awareness of Households’ Food Waste in Italy: A Comparison between Diary and Questionnaires Quantities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-15, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chih-Ching Teng & Chueh Chih & Yao-Chin Wang, 2020. "Decisional Factors Driving Household Food Waste Prevention: Evidence from Taiwanese Families," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-15, August.
    2. Annika Johanna Thies & Felicitas Schneider & Josef Efken, 2021. "The Meat We Do Not Eat. A Survey of Meat Waste in German Hospitality and Food Service Businesses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, April.
    3. Cristina Bianca Pocol & Margaux Pinoteau & Antonio Amuza & Adriana Burlea-Schiopoiu & Alexandra-Ioana Glogovețan, 2020. "Food Waste Behavior among Romanian Consumers: A Cluster Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-17, November.
    4. Claudia Giordano & Silvio Franco, 2021. "Household Food Waste from an International Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-9, May.
    5. Dominik Leverenz & Felicitas Schneider & Thomas Schmidt & Gerold Hafner & Zuemmy Nevárez & Martin Kranert, 2021. "Food Waste Generation in Germany in the Scope of European Legal Requirements for Monitoring and Reporting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-23, June.
    6. Valentina Gomes Haensel Schmitt & Mirza Marvel Cequea & Jessika Milagros Vásquez Neyra & Marcos Ferasso, 2021. "Consumption Behavior and Residential Food Waste during the COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak in Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-21, March.
    7. Ulrich Jürgens, 2023. "Does Food Shopping Behaviour Determine Food Waste Vulnerability in Private Households? Quantitative Analysis on Case Studies from Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-26, March.
    8. Marzena Lemanowicz & Anna Jasiulewicz, 2021. "Attitudes and Behaviour of Polish Consumers Regarding Food Waste in the Food Chain," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2), pages 636-648.
    9. Hannah Barker & Peter J. Shaw & Beth Richards & Zoe Clegg & Dianna M. Smith, 2023. "Towards Sustainable Food Systems: Exploring Household Food Waste by Photographic Diary in Relation to Unprocessed, Processed and Ultra-Processed Food," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-19, January.
    10. Giaime Berti & Claudia Giordano & Mariavaleria Mininni, 2021. "Assessing the Transformative Potential of Food Banks: The Case Study of Magazzini Sociali (Italy)," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-20, March.
    11. Emily Keegan & Jessica K. Breadsell, 2021. "Food Waste and Social Practices in Australian Households," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-35, March.
    12. Robert Nicewicz & Beata Bilska, 2022. "The Impact of the Nutritional Knowledge of Polish Students Living Outside the Family Home on Consumer Behavior and Food Waste," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-17, October.
    13. Lea Kubíčková & Lucie Veselá & Marcela Kormaňáková, 2021. "Food Waste Behaviour at the Consumer Level: Pilot Study on Czech Private Households," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-24, October.
    14. Bogevska, Zvezda & Berjan, Sinisa & El Bilali, Hamid & Sadegh Allahyari, Mohammad & Radosavac, Adriana & Davitkovska, Margarita, 2022. "Exploring food shopping, consumption and waste habits in North Macedonia during the COVID-19 pandemic," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).
    15. Jakob Bogenreuther & Thomas Kastner & Felicitas Schneider & Thomas Koellner, 2024. "Biodiversity impact of food waste: Quantification for supply chain stages and products in Germany," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 28(2), pages 355-367, April.
    16. Shahin Ghaziani & Delaram Ghodsi & Gholamreza Dehbozorgi & Shiva Faghih & Yeganeh Rajabpour Ranjbar & Reiner Doluschitz, 2021. "Comparing Lab-Measured and Surveyed Bread Waste Data: A Possible Hybrid Approach to Correct the Underestimation of Household Food Waste Self-Assessment Surveys," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, March.
    17. Panpan Zhang & Dan Zhang & Shengkui Cheng, 2020. "The Effect of Consumer Perception on Food Waste Behavior of Urban Households in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-14, July.
    18. Thies, Annika Johanna & Efken, Josef & Sönnichsen, Monika, 2022. "How much Meat do we eat? Estimating per Capita Meat Consumption in Germany based on a Market Balance Approach," German Journal of Agricultural Economics, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Department for Agricultural Economics, vol. 70(02), January.
    19. Claudia Giordano & Gianluca Di Fiore & Fabrizio Alboni & Elisa Carloni & Sergio Rivaroli & Luca Falasconi, 2023. "Household Food Waste Awareness in Relation to Motivations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-14, July.
    20. Y. Feng & C. Marek & J. Tosun, 2022. "Fighting Food Waste by Law: Making Sense of the Chinese Approach," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 457-479, September.
    21. Mirza Marvel Cequea & Jessika Milagros Vásquez Neyra & Valentina Gomes Haensel Schmitt & Marcos Ferasso, 2021. "Household Food Consumption and Wastage during the COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak: A Comparison between Peru and Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-22, July.
    22. Ovidija Eičaitė & Gitana Alenčikienė & Ingrida Pauliukaitytė & Alvija Šalaševičienė, 2021. "Eat or Throw Away? Factors Differentiating High Food Wasters from Low Food Wasters," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-16, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ovidija Eičaitė & Gitana Alenčikienė & Ingrida Pauliukaitytė & Alvija Šalaševičienė, 2021. "Eat or Throw Away? Factors Differentiating High Food Wasters from Low Food Wasters," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-16, September.
    2. Azzurra Annunziata & Massimiliano Agovino & Aniello Ferraro & Angela Mariani, 2020. "Household Food Waste: A Case Study in Southern Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-13, February.
    3. Annika Johanna Thies & Felicitas Schneider & Josef Efken, 2021. "The Meat We Do Not Eat. A Survey of Meat Waste in German Hospitality and Food Service Businesses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, April.
    4. Principato, Ludovica & Secondi, Luca & Cicatiello, Clara & Mattia, Giovanni, 2022. "Caring more about food: The unexpected positive effect of the Covid-19 lockdown on household food management and waste," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).
    5. Efrat Elimelech & Eyal Ert & Ofira Ayalon, 2019. "Exploring the Drivers behind Self-Reported and Measured Food Wastage," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-19, October.
    6. Vargas-Lopez, Adrian & Cicatiello, Clara & Principato, Ludovica & Secondi, Luca, 2022. "Consumer expenditure, elasticity and value of food waste: A Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System for evaluating changes in Mexico during COVID-19," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).
    7. Everitt, Haley & van der Werf, Paul & Seabrook, Jamie A. & Wray, Alexander & Gilliland, Jason A., 2022. "The quantity and composition of household food waste during the COVID-19 pandemic: A direct measurement study in Canada," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).
    8. Shahin Ghaziani & Delaram Ghodsi & Gholamreza Dehbozorgi & Shiva Faghih & Yeganeh Rajabpour Ranjbar & Reiner Doluschitz, 2021. "Comparing Lab-Measured and Surveyed Bread Waste Data: A Possible Hybrid Approach to Correct the Underestimation of Household Food Waste Self-Assessment Surveys," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, March.
    9. Sabine Ludwig-Ohm & Walter Dirksmeyer & Kathrin Klockgether, 2019. "Approaches to Reduce Food Losses in German Fruit and Vegetable Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-21, November.
    10. Lingfei Wang & Yuqin Yang & Guoyan Wang, 2022. "The Clean Your Plate Campaign: Resisting Table Food Waste in an Unstable World," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-17, April.
    11. Maria Luisa Scalvedi & Laura Rossi, 2021. "Comprehensive Measurement of Italian Domestic Food Waste in a European Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, February.
    12. Massimiliano Cerciello, 2021. "Spatial patterns in food waste at the local level. A preliminary analysis for Italian data," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(1), pages 83-101, February.
    13. Jiang, J.-Q. & Yu, T. & Wang, Z.-H. & Qi, D.-M & Huang, W.-Z, 2018. "Analyzing the Size and Affecting Factors of Household Food Waste in China," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277551, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Vera Amicarelli & Christian Bux, 2021. "Food waste in Italian households during the Covid-19 pandemic: a self-reporting approach," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(1), pages 25-37, February.
    15. Theodoridis, Prokopis K. & Zacharatos, Theofanis V., 2022. "Food waste during Covid- 19 lockdown period and consumer behaviour – The case of Greece," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    16. Amicarelli, Vera & Lagioia, Giovanni & Sampietro, Stefania & Bux, Christian, 2022. "Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed food waste perception and behavior? Evidence from Italian consumers," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).
    17. Cynthia Castro & Ekaterina Chitikova & Giulia Magnani & Julian Merkle & Maxi Heitmayer, 2023. "Less Is More: Preventing Household Food Waste through an Integrated Mobile Application," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-18, July.
    18. Gyula Kasza & Annamária Dorkó & Atilla Kunszabó & Dávid Szakos, 2020. "Quantification of Household Food Waste in Hungary: A Replication Study Using the FUSIONS Methodology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-14, April.
    19. Bogevska, Zvezda & Berjan, Sinisa & El Bilali, Hamid & Sadegh Allahyari, Mohammad & Radosavac, Adriana & Davitkovska, Margarita, 2022. "Exploring food shopping, consumption and waste habits in North Macedonia during the COVID-19 pandemic," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).
    20. Henrike Hermanussen & Jens-Peter Loy & Bekhzod Egamberdiev, 2022. "Determinants of Food Waste from Household Food Consumption: A Case Study from Field Survey in Germany," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-22, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:11:p:4702-:d:369146. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.