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What Are the Environmental Benefits and Costs of Reducing Food Waste? Bristol as a Case Study in the WASTE FEW Urban Living Lab Project

Author

Listed:
  • Eleanor Eaton

    (Department of Economics, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK)

  • Alistair Hunt

    (Department of Economics, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK)

  • Anastasia Di Leo

    (Department of Economics, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK)

  • Daniel Black

    (Daniel Black + Associates|db + a, Bristol BS7 9AZ, UK
    Bristol Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TH, UK)

  • Gwen Frost

    (Bristol Waste Company, Bristol BS2 0XS, UK)

  • Sarah Hargreaves

    (Resource Futures, Bristol BS1 6XN, UK)

Abstract

The city of Bristol currently generates around 48,000 tonnes of household food waste every year. This waste incurs loss of resources and environmental damage throughout the food cycle. In this paper we quantify and value the baseline socio-environmental impacts from household food waste in Bristol before examining the potential costs and benefits that may result from changes to food waste behaviour. In so doing, we look to better inform the choice of food waste reduction methods in public policy. The environmental impacts of two possible policy targets are explored: (1) a 20% increase in food waste recycling and (2) an overall decrease in food waste of 20%. Environmental impacts are estimated for 13 different hazards, including Global Warming Potential, Particulate Matter, Human Toxicity and Water Depletion. The societal consequences of these environmental changes are monetised using non-market values which allows us to directly compare the relative importance of different environmental impacts and the trade-offs between these impacts in each scenario. For example, we estimate that the Global Warming Potential of Bristol’s annual food waste equates to around 110,000 tonnes CO 2 , or 25,000 additional cars on the road every year. We find that a 20% improvement in recycling behaviour would lead to an annual reduction of 113 tonnes of CO 2 equivalent, whilst a 20% reduction in food waste would result in an annual reduction of 15,000 tonnes CO 2 equivalent. Findings suggest that the environmental impact of waste management is significantly overshadowed by the impact of resources used in food production and distribution before it becomes waste.

Suggested Citation

  • Eleanor Eaton & Alistair Hunt & Anastasia Di Leo & Daniel Black & Gwen Frost & Sarah Hargreaves, 2022. "What Are the Environmental Benefits and Costs of Reducing Food Waste? Bristol as a Case Study in the WASTE FEW Urban Living Lab Project," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-22, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:9:p:5573-:d:809384
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    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.
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Black & Susanne Charlesworth & Maria Ester Dal Poz & Erika Cristina Francisco & Adina Paytan & Ian Roderick & Timo von Wirth & Kevin Winter, 2023. "Comparing Societal Impact Planning and Evaluation Approaches across Four Urban Living Labs (in Food-Energy-Water Systems)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-20, March.
    2. Daniel Black & Taoyuan Wei & Eleanor Eaton & Alistair Hunt & Joy Carey & Ulrich Schmutz & Bingzi He & Ian Roderick, 2023. "Testing Food Waste Reduction Targets: Integrating Transition Scenarios with Macro-Valuation in an Urban Living Lab," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-20, March.

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