Food waste costs little to many

The waste of food has become a way of life for many Londoners who, according to a study conducted by the Occidental, throw an average of $ 600 in the trash every year.

Paul van der Werf, environmental consultant and project consultant at the Western Laboratory for the Human Environment (HEAL Lab), explains Paul van der Werf, environmental consultant.

Van der Werf was the main author of the article "Food for nothing: using the theory of planned behavior to better understand household food waste behavior," recently published in Canadian Geographer.

"London is a medium-sized city with an" average "population, so if we want to look at Hamilton, Saskatoon and Vancouver, some of their answers may be different, but I do not think they would be that way. quite reproducible, "he said, pointing out that a Swiss study using a similar methodology had produced similar results.

The London household survey showed that residents reported throwing food – so-called "avoidable food waste" – on average 4.77 times a week for a total of 5 , 89 servings of food the week before. Fruits and vegetables were most often discarded, usually because respondents said they bought more than needed and it was wasted.

Only 11% of those surveyed said they did not throw food in the previous week.

Van der Werf also looked at what could drive them to waste less. While environmental and social responsibility was on the list, interviewees thought that spending cuts would be the main driver of behavior change.

"My badumption was that people are motivated by money – as rude as it sounds and as much as we like to think that people are primarily motivated by the environmental impact and social good."

People do not feel that they control the environmental impact and the social good; their good intentions are not enough to persuade them to shed less food. However, they control their money and do not want to waste the $ 31 billion a year in food that Canadians would waste.

"I strongly believe in using local data to motivate change.When people hear the word" billion ", that's too much.They are not billionaires, so they can not understand each other. when I tell them, on average, households are rejecting 600 dollars a year, it's a lot of motivation. "

When asked to choose among three motivators to stop wasting food behavior, 60% of respondents chose to reduce monetary losses as the best incentive.

Unlike many Canadian municipalities, London has yet to put in place a green waste collection program at the city level.

Western offers a composting program and organic collection system in residences, at the University Community Center (UCC) Spot Center, in the Support Services Building and in several other buildings, as part of the program. University goal of becoming a zero waste campus.

Green bins only deal with the end of the problem, van der Werf said. While composting diverts food from the dump, "it's still food that you should have eaten."

About 75% of the environmental impact of food – all the work required for cultivation, processing, storage, shipping and distribution, for example – takes place before It does not fall on our plates. This means that composting, while commendable, will not have the same impact as simply buying less and using more.

"For me, the message must remind people that food waste is inefficient." We need to redefine this green bin a bit to emphasize this first "R" reduction, if we can manage the supply, storage and preparation food, then it would improve our sense of control of the situation. "

The study is co-authored by Jason Gilliland, HEAL Laboratory Director and Professor of Geography, and Jamie Seabrook, Professor, Brescia University College, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences. It was held in cooperation with London City Environmental Services Manager Jay Stanford.

Recruitment is done through social media, the city, community groups, and even hand-delivered pamphlets in selected areas, and the study gathered respondents from a cross-section of London neighborhoods and demographics. .

Van der Werf, who received his Ph.D. in Geography last November and is a consultant in waste management, is currently conducting a new academic study to examine and compare self-reported waste volumes with the actual amount of waste and recyclables. compostables placed along the street.