From Old Habits to New Routines—A Case Study of Food Waste Generation and Reduction in Four Swedish Schools

Christine Persson Osowski, Dariusz Osowski, Kristina Johansson, Niina Sundin, Christopher Malefors and Mattias Eriksson
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Christine Persson Osowski: Division of Public Health Sciences, School of Health, Care and Social Welfare, Mälardalen University, Box 883, 721 23 Vasteras, Sweden
Dariusz Osowski: Department of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University, Box 883, 721 23 Vasteras, Sweden
Kristina Johansson: Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7032, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
Niina Sundin: Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7032, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
Christopher Malefors: Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7032, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
Mattias Eriksson: Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7032, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden

Resources, 2022, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Public food service organizations are large producers of food waste, which leads to greenhouse gas emissions and the waste of natural resources. The aim of the present article was to gain insight into reasons for food waste and possible solutions for lowering food waste in schools in Sweden. In order to do so, food waste quantification in school canteens in two Swedish municipalities and nine qualitative interviews with key actors were conducted. Both municipalities displayed a high degree of variation in food waste, but the common pattern was that serving waste constituted the largest fraction of food waste, followed by plate waste and storage waste, as well as a gradual decrease in food waste over time. Food waste was mainly a result of old, disadvantageous habits, such as overproduction due to forecasting difficulties, whereas new, better routines such as serving fewer options, better planning, and a less stressful environment are the key to lowering food waste. Because food waste varies from one case to the next, it becomes important to identify and measure the causes of food waste in each school in order to be able to establish tailor-made, conscious, and flexible food waste mitigation routines.

Keywords: food waste; school; quantification; interviews; canteen; routines (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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