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Three Essays on Food Waste Management Planning

Arroyo-Rodriguez, Angel Santiago
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7253-5720
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1610036433635364

Abstract Details

2020, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, City and Regional Planning.
Food waste is a wicked problem. It is the result of agricultural economic policies, income inequality, deficient distribution networks, and food edibility enculturation among other factors. Food waste is generated at every level of the food system, with each level having numerous activities with enough uniqueness and reasons for wasting food. Equally, there are numerous ways to prevent, reduce and recycle food waste at each level of the food system, but solutions also depend on the same factors that causes it and are additionally influenced by sustainability policies, existing waste management infrastructure, land use priorities, and social and personal psychological norms. Hence it can feel that finding a solution for food waste is a never-ending battle. Solutions must be implemented at all levels of the food system and in order to do this food waste and solid waste management planners must look for causes and solutions at the macro and micro scales. The research presented here is concerned with implementing solutions and understanding how these solutions could be successfully implemented. In the first essay, I report the case study of a planning process undertaken in the Mississippi Gulf Coast to develop a food system plan that integrated strategies commonly included in regional solid waste management plans, in order to manage food waste more sustainably with strategies designed to accommodate local needs and unique circumstances. While most food system plans acknowledge the importance of managing food waste, this study was the first food system planning effort that included a committee composed of local solid waste management professionals and local stakeholders interested in food waste prevention, reduction, and recycling. The planning process was a three-step process that engaged stakeholders in the food supply chain from production, distribution, retail, and consumption through to post-consumption. The essay describes the specific steps taken to assess the generation of food waste in the foodshed, engage stakeholders, and develop strategies for food waste diversion and management. I found that local stakeholders wanted food waste management solutions that are economically feasible, sustainable and innovative that prevents wasted food and address food insecurity, and utilizes food waste for improvement of soils and enhanced food production. Stakeholders also highlighted the importance of addressing the psychological or attitudinal barriers relating to the management of food waste and waste in general. The essay concludes by offering recommendations on how communities can integrate food waste management into their food system planning efforts. This case study demonstrates the potential of food waste planning for successfully integrating food waste diversion strategies into a regional food systems plan. The second essay documents all the food waste management practices used by a national sample of U.S. residents in their homes. By identifying current local practices and their prevalence of use, food waste and solid waste planners gain an opportunity to evaluate these practices for the potential effects that their implementation can have on public health and the environment, and to determine the desirability of continuing those practices. The knowledge gained can help planners improve curbside collection programs and determine if curbside collection is in fact the best option for a municipality; identify other practices with high household engagement that could help achieve the desired results with better municipal returns on investment; forecast which services are more likely to succeed; identify barriers to implementation; identify equipment that might be required; and how to focus educational efforts. The study revealed 11 distinct practices being used, of which 10 result in diversion from landfills. The prevalence of use of the practices differs between non-plate and plate food waste. While disposing in the trash is the most common practice for both plate and non-plate waste, reuse of plate leftovers was the second most common practice. To my knowledge, this study also provides the first assessment of the prevalence of backyard composting of food waste and the first documentation of the frequency of feeding food waste to pets, and wildlife and feral animals in the United States. I found that the majority of the respondents reported performing only one food waste management practice. I also found that food waste management practices at the household level had no significant positive or negative association with gender, total household income, living arrangement, presence of persons under 18 in the household, or type of residence. For the third essay, I focused on residents’ beliefs regarding food waste’s potential for causing foul odors and attracting nuisance animals. Food waste odors and attraction of animals by food waste are frequently cited as deterrents to household participation in food waste separation and curbside collection practices. This is the first study that documents the beliefs regarding food waste odors and potential animal conflicts by a sample of households from across the United States. I found that odor is the most frequently reported concern, including about half of the respondents in this study. Odor concern is also significantly associated with age, as respondents aged 25 to 64 are concerned with bad odors caused by the recycling of food waste. Over half of the respondents indicated that they belief food waste odors would be more problematic while stored in a temporary container inside the house. An important finding of this study is that the concern for conflict with animals is not widely held, nor seems to be a barrier to future food waste recycling intentions. Only about a fourth of the respondents currently experience problems with animals getting into their trash carts at the curb, and half of them do not expect animals to be of concern for food waste recycling. A leak-proof and wildlife-proof cart was considered the most appropriate option for curbside collection of food waste. This study suggests that curbside collection carts exhibit agency and this agency may be leveraged to increase and retain participation in curbside collection programs.
Bernadette Hanlon, PhD (Advisor)
Brian Roe, PhD (Advisor)
Kareem Usher, PhD (Committee Member)
Jennifer Evans-Cowley, PhD (Committee Member)
166 p.
Area Planning and Development; Behavioral Psychology; Environmental Health; Environmental Management; Environmental Studies; Land Use Planning; Public Health; Sanitation; Social Psychology; Sustainability; Urban Planning; Wildlife Management
food waste, food waste management, waste management planning, Mississippi, food systems, food waste odors, conflict animals, feeding animals, backyard composting, food waste prevention, practice theory, theory of planned behavior, food systems planning

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Arroyo-Rodriguez, A. S. (2020). Three Essays on Food Waste Management Planning [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1610036433635364

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Arroyo-Rodriguez, Angel. Three Essays on Food Waste Management Planning. 2020. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1610036433635364.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Arroyo-Rodriguez, Angel. "Three Essays on Food Waste Management Planning." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1610036433635364

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1610036433635364
387
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.