IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/circec/v3y2023i2d10.1007_s43615-022-00193-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Proof Is in the Pudding: Using a Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Long-Term Effectiveness of a Household Food Waste Reduction Intervention During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Haley Everitt

    (University of Western Ontario
    University of Western Ontario)

  • Paul van der Werf

    (University of Western Ontario
    University of Western Ontario)

  • Jamie A. Seabrook

    (University of Western Ontario
    University of Western Ontario
    Lawson Health Research Institute
    Children’s Health Research Institute)

  • Jason A. Gilliland

    (University of Western Ontario
    University of Western Ontario
    University of Western Ontario
    Lawson Health Research Institute)

Abstract

To halve per capita global food waste by 2030, policies and programs that effectively reduce household food waste generation are needed. Building upon a previous randomized controlled trial, this study evaluated the long-term effectiveness of the “Reduce Food Waste, Save Money” household food waste reduction intervention by comparing direct measurements of household food waste generated by treatment (n = 47) and control households (n = 52) over three time periods. The results indicate that there has been a long-term, sustained 30% reduction of avoidable food waste sent to landfill by treatment households following the implementation of this intervention. Additionally, this study assessed the impact of pandemic circumstances on the quantity and composition of household food waste by comparing direct measurements of food waste generated by the same households before (October 2017) and during (June 2020) the COVID-19 pandemic. During the first wave of the pandemic in Ontario, Canada, study households (n = 99) sent 2.98 kg of food waste to landfill per week, of which 54% was classified as avoidable food waste, and the remaining 46% as unavoidable food waste. During the pandemic, the generation of unavoidable food waste significantly increased by 65% (p

Suggested Citation

  • Haley Everitt & Paul van der Werf & Jamie A. Seabrook & Jason A. Gilliland, 2023. "The Proof Is in the Pudding: Using a Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Long-Term Effectiveness of a Household Food Waste Reduction Intervention During the COVID-19 Pandemic," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 881-898, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:circec:v:3:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s43615-022-00193-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s43615-022-00193-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s43615-022-00193-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s43615-022-00193-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    2. Dorward, Leejiah J., 2012. "Where are the best opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the food system (including the food chain)? A comment," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 463-466.
    3. 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.
    4. Tammara Soma & Belinda Li & Virginia Maclaren, 2020. "Food Waste Reduction: A Test of Three Consumer Awareness Interventions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-19, January.
    5. Goodman-Smith, Francesca & Mirosa, Miranda & Skeaff, Sheila, 2020. "A mixed-methods study of retail food waste in New Zealand," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    6. Quested, T.E. & Marsh, E. & Stunell, D. & Parry, A.D., 2013. "Spaghetti soup: The complex world of food waste behaviours," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 43-51.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Francesco La Barbera & Mario Amato & Roberta Riverso & Fabio Verneau, 2022. "Social Emotions and Good Provider Norms in Tackling Household Food Waste: An Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-12, August.
    2. Jingjing Wang & Mingyue Li & Sinan Li & Kai Chen, 2022. "Understanding Consumers’ Food Waste Reduction Behavior—A Study Based on Extended Norm Activation Theory," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-15, April.
    3. 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).
    4. Graham-Rowe, Ella & Jessop, Donna C. & Sparks, Paul, 2015. "Predicting household food waste reduction using an extended theory of planned behaviour," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 194-202.
    5. Matteo Vittuari & Luca Falasconi & Matteo Masotti & Simone Piras & Andrea Segrè & Marco Setti, 2020. "‘Not in My Bin’: Consumer’s Understanding and Concern of Food Waste Effects and Mitigating Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-23, July.
    6. 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.
    7. Zhang, Jin & Huang, Yidi & Zhu, Junming & Zhao, Lijun, 2023. "A meta-analysis on the effectiveness of food-waste reducing nudges," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    8. Piras, Simone & Righi, Simone & Setti, Marco & Koseoglu, Nazli & Grainger, Matthew & stewart, Gavin & Vittuari, Matteo, 2021. "From social interactions to private environmental behaviours: The case of consumer food waste," SocArXiv 7k4vy, Center for Open Science.
    9. Thanos Ioannou & Katerina Bazigou & Afroditi Katsigianni & Michalis Fotiadis & Christina Chroni & Thrassyvoulos Manios & Ioannis Daliakopoulos & Christos Tsompanidis & Eleni Michalodimitraki & Katia L, 2022. "The “A2UFood Training Kit”: Participatory Workshops to Minimize Food Loss and Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-24, February.
    10. Haley Everitt & Paul van der Werf & Jason A. Gilliland, 2023. "A Review of Household Food Waste Generation during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-18, March.
    11. 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).
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. 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).
    15. Güngör KARAKAŞ, 2022. "Factors affecting food waste awareness in Turkey. The case of Corum province," Eastern Journal of European Studies, Centre for European Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, vol. 13, pages 271-289, June.
    16. Russell, Sally V. & Young, C. William & Unsworth, Kerrie L. & Robinson, Cheryl, 2017. "Bringing habits and emotions into food waste behaviour," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 107-114.
    17. Azzurra Annunziata & Francisco Luis Muca & Angela Mariani, 2022. "Preventing Household Food Waste in Italy: A Segmentation of the Population and Suggestions for Action," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-17, June.
    18. Danica Jobson & Gamithri Gayana Karunasena & Nazia Nabi & David Pearson & Emily Dunstan, 2024. "A Systematic Review of Pre-Post Studies Testing Behaviour Change Interventions to Reduce Consumer Food Waste in the Household," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-32, February.
    19. Maria Andersson & Ola Eriksson & Chris Von Borgstede, 2012. "The Effects of Environmental Management Systems on Source Separation in the Work and Home Settings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 4(6), pages 1-17, June.
    20. Tran Huy Phuong & Thanh Trung Hieu, 2015. "Predictors of Entrepreneurial Intentions of Undergraduate Students in Vietnam: An Empirical Study," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 5(8), pages 46-55, August.

    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:spr:circec:v:3:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s43615-022-00193-7. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.