- Researchers surveyed 939 households and discovered three types of food waste
- While 39% are ‘warriors’, the remaining 61% are ‘wrestlers’ or ‘slackers’
Food waste is a major problem in Britain, with Britons throwing away an estimated 9.5 million tonnes of food every year.
Food waste is not only extremely wasteful, but it can also contribute to climate change because it releases enormous amounts of methane gas when broken down.
Despite this, a new survey has shown that only 39 percent of households are strongly motivated to reduce food waste.
Researchers from the University of Adelaide surveyed 939 households and discovered three different styles of food waste management.
While 39 percent are considered “warriors,” the remaining 61 percent are “wrestlers” or “slackers,” they say.
Researchers from the University of Adelaide surveyed 939 households and discovered three different styles of food waste management. While 39 percent are classified as “warriors,” the remaining 61 percent are “wrestlers” or “slackers,” they say
According to Wrap9.5 million tons of food is wasted every year, 70 percent of which was intended for human consumption.
“The food that could have been eaten would be the equivalent of more than 15 billion meals – enough to feed the entire British population three meals a day for 11 weeks,” it explains on its website.
Because households are known to make a significant contribution to this food waste, the researchers sought to understand our food waste behavior.
The team surveyed 939 households on two key behaviors: generating and sorting food waste.
The results showed that all households fall into three categories.
Thirty-nine percent of households are ‘warriors’, who have little or avoid food waste and sort it sustainably.
According to the researchers, warriors tend to be older, retired people who live in small adult households.
Meanwhile, 20 percent of households are classified as ‘warriors’, with high levels of food waste and average levels of sorting.
The fighters are usually parents with busy lives, who lead a household with children.
“Families with children are motivated to reduce and sort their food waste, but struggle to do so due to their busy lifestyles and responsibilities,” said Trang Thi Thu Nguyen, lead author of the study.
Food waste is a major problem in Britain, with Britons throwing away an estimated 9.5 million tonnes of food every year (stock image)
Finally, 41 percent are ‘slackers’, who have little food waste, but do not deal with it sustainably.
Slackers are usually young people who live in small households.
The researchers hope the findings can be used to create more tailored interventions for households, especially for those considered ‘strugglers’.
“This part of society would benefit greatly from tailored interventions, as parents would then set a good example to their children in adopting sustainable conscious behavior,” Trang added.
According to Wrap, there are several things your household can do to reduce your food waste.
This includes using a portion planner and replacing fresh foods with frozen options that last much longer.
“By reducing food waste the average British household can save £500 a year and make a positive contribution to the UK’s waste reduction targets,” Wrap said.