IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i16p8988-d612451.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of COVID-19 on Food and Plastic Waste Generated by Consumers in Bangkok

Author

Listed:
  • Chen Liu

    (Sustainable Consumption and Production Area, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, 2108-11 Kamiyamaguchi, Hayama 240-0115, Japan)

  • Pongsun Bunditsakulchai

    (Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, 254 Phayathai Road, Phathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand)

  • Qiannan Zhuo

    (Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, 5322 Endo, Fujisawa 252-0882, Japan)

Abstract

The crisis ignited by COVID-19 has transformed the volume and composition of waste generation and requires a dynamic response from policy makers. This study selected Bangkok as a case study to semi-quantitatively examine the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on consumer-generated food and plastic waste by examining changes in lifestyles and consumption behaviour through a face-to-face questionnaire survey. Travel bans and diminished economic activity due to COVID-19 have led to a dramatic reduction in waste from the business sector and in the total amount of municipal waste generated. However, the results of the survey showed that both food and plastic waste generated by households in Bangkok increased during COVID-19. The shift from eating out to online food delivery services led to an increase in plastic bags, hot-and-cold food bags, plastic food containers, and food waste. Reasons for the increase in household food waste during COVID-19 varied, with respondents citing excessive amounts of food and unappetising taste, followed by exceeding the expiration date and rotting/foul odours. These reasons may be the result of the inability to predict quantity and quality when ordering online, and inadequate food planning and management by consumers. To achieve more effective food and plastic waste management, home delivery services, consumer food planning and management, and the formation of a circular economy based on localised supply chains may be considered as important intervention points.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen Liu & Pongsun Bunditsakulchai & Qiannan Zhuo, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 on Food and Plastic Waste Generated by Consumers in Bangkok," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-21, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:16:p:8988-:d:612451
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/8988/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/16/8988/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Reynolds, Christian & Goucher, Liam & Quested, Tom & Bromley, Sarah & Gillick, Sam & Wells, Victoria K. & Evans, David & Koh, Lenny & Carlsson Kanyama, Annika & Katzeff, Cecilia & Svenfelt, Åsa & Jack, 2019. "Review: Consumption-stage food waste reduction interventions – What works and how to design better interventions," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 7-27.
    2. Jessica Aschemann-Witzel & Ilona De Hooge & Pegah Amani & Tino Bech-Larsen & Marije Oostindjer, 2015. "Consumer-Related Food Waste: Causes and Potential for Action," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(6), pages 1-21, May.
    3. Kun Qian & Firouzeh Javadi & Michikazu Hiramatsu, 2020. "Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Household Food Waste Behavior in Japan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-15, November.
    4. Sarra Jribi & Hanen Ben Ismail & Darine Doggui & Hajer Debbabi, 2020. "COVID-19 virus outbreak lockdown: What impacts on household food wastage?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 3939-3955, June.
    5. Pongsun Bunditsakulchai & Chen Liu, 2021. "Integrated Strategies for Household Food Waste Reduction in Bangkok," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-21, July.
    6. Fabio Giudice & Rocco Caferra & Piergiuseppe Morone, 2020. "COVID-19, the Food System and the Circular Economy: Challenges and Opportunities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-15, September.
    7. Berta Vidal-Mones & Héctor Barco & Raquel Diaz-Ruiz & Maria-Angeles Fernandez-Zamudio, 2021. "Citizens’ Food Habit Behavior and Food Waste Consequences during the First COVID-19 Lockdown in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-20, March.
    8. Massimiliano Borrello & Francesco Caracciolo & Alessia Lombardi & Stefano Pascucci & Luigi Cembalo, 2017. "Consumers’ Perspective on Circular Economy Strategy for Reducing Food Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-18, January.
    9. Vera Amicarelli & Caterina Tricase & Alessia Spada & Christian Bux, 2021. "Households’ Food Waste Behavior at Local Scale: A Cluster Analysis after the COVID-19 Lockdown," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-14, March.
    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. Abhisit Bhatsada & Suthum Patumsawad & Sirintornthep Towprayoon & Chart Chiemchaisri & Awassada Phongphiphat & Komsilp Wangyao, 2023. "Modification of the Aeration-Supplied Configuration in the Biodrying Process for Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-19, April.
    2. Giulia Borghesi & Piergiuseppe Morone, 2023. "A review of the effects of COVID-19 on food waste," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(1), pages 261-280, February.
    3. Abderahman Rejeb & Karim Rejeb & Andrea Appolloni & Mohammad Iranmanesh & Horst Treiblmaier & Sandeep Jagtap, 2022. "Exploring Food Supply Chain Trends in the COVID-19 Era: A Bibliometric Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-33, September.
    4. 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.
    5. Salinda Sedtha & Vilas Nitivattananon & Mokbul Morshed Ahmad & Simon Guerrero Cruz, 2022. "The First Step of Single-Use Plastics Reduction in Thailand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-16, December.
    6. Eva L. Jenkins & Dickson Lukose & Linda Brennan & Annika Molenaar & Tracy A. McCaffrey, 2023. "Exploring Food Waste Conversations on Social Media: A Sentiment, Emotion, and Topic Analysis of Twitter Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-26, September.
    7. Bonev, Petyo & Soederberg, Magnus & Unternährer, Maria, 2022. "An empirical evaluation of the effect of working from home on waste behaviors," Economics Working Paper Series 2210, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.

    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. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. Claudia Giordano & Silvio Franco, 2021. "Household Food Waste from an International Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-9, May.
    4. Giulia Borghesi & Piergiuseppe Morone, 2023. "A review of the effects of COVID-19 on food waste," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(1), pages 261-280, February.
    5. 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).
    6. Janet Music & Sylvain Charlebois & Louise Spiteri & Shannon Farrell & Alysha Griffin, 2021. "Increases in Household Food Waste in Canada as a Result of COVID-19: An Exploratory Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-11, November.
    7. Mario Amato & Fabio Verneau & Adele Coppola & Francesco La Barbera, 2021. "Domestic Food Waste and Covid-19 Concern: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-12, July.
    8. Maria-Georgeta Moldovan & Dan-Cristian Dabija & Cristina Bianca Pocol, 2022. "Resources Management for a Resilient World: A Literature Review of Eastern European Countries with Focus on Household Behaviour and Trends Related to Food Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-13, June.
    9. repec:ags:aaea22:335672 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Emma L. Sharp & Jillian Haszard & Victoria Egli & Rajshri Roy & Lisa Te Morenga & Lauranna Teunissen & Paulien Decorte & Isabelle Cuykx & Charlotte De Backer & Sarah Gerritsen, 2021. "Less Food Wasted? Changes to New Zealanders’ Household Food Waste and Related Behaviours Due to the 2020 COVID-19 Lockdown," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-17, September.
    11. 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.
    12. Natália Rohenkohl do Canto & Klaus G. Grunert & Marcia Dutra De Barcellos, 2021. "Circular Food Behaviors: A Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-27, February.
    13. Chen Liu & Trung Thang Nguyen, 2020. "Evaluation of Household Food Waste Generation in Hanoi and Policy Implications towards SDGs Target 12.3," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-20, August.
    14. João M. Lopes & Sofia Gomes & Tiago Trancoso, 2023. "The Dark Side of Green Marketing: How Greenwashing Affects Circular Consumption?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-17, July.
    15. Mariarosaria Lombardi & Marco Costantino, 2021. "A Hierarchical Pyramid for Food Waste Based on a Social Innovation Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, April.
    16. 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).
    17. 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.
    18. Agnieszka Dudziak & Monika Stoma & Arkadiusz J. Derkacz, 2022. "Circular Economy in the Context of Food Losses and Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-21, August.
    19. Bright Obuobi & Hong Wang & Faustina Awuah & Emmanuel Nketiah & Gibbson Adu-Gyamfi & Mavis Adjei, 2024. "The aftermath of COVID-19 impacts: examining the impact of COVID-19 on residents' current food waste behavior," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(10), pages 25503-25526, October.
    20. 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.
    21. Ananda, Jayanath & Gayana Karunasena, Gamithri & Pearson, David, 2022. "Identifying interventions to reduce household food waste based on food categories," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).

    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:13:y:2021:i:16:p:8988-:d:612451. 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.