To reduce or to recycle? Urban residents’ views on food waste and food-related packaging practices in The Hague, Netherlands

• DOI: 10.1016/j.wmb.2024.05.007
• Publication Date: 2024-05-23T19:11:18Z
• Authors: Ann Trevenen-Jones; Min J. Cho; Jyothi Thrivikraman; Daniela Vicherat ...
• Keywords: Food Waste; Consumption

Urban households are an intimate nexus of food and waste, connecting people to challenges sustainability inequality, in wider systems. Household waste (HFW) studies, including those which explored consumption practices during COVID-19, have tended emphasize the reduction as part behaviour change. In 2018/19 exploratory, interdisciplinary, mixed method study was conducted HFW perceptions urban residents The Hague (Netherlands) with purposeful sampling (n = 19), speaking either Dutch, English or Arabic. Participants took photographs their for photovoice interviews focus group stories. research's is provide a space participants become self-aware explicit implicit understanding household its related (i.e. food-related packaging). This finding resonated across all hierarchical levels management from best practices, such as, least preferred options. Performing appears lack comprehensive ecological contextualisation per latter system. Dutch English-speaking groups seemed mostly unaware 'what happened next' disposed packaging, whilst Arabic appeared more comprehensively ecosystem attuned. Given impetus zero-waste sustainable lifestyle, transitory implications knowing explicitly about happens different forms disposal, once it 'out sight', could potentially offer insights into reconfigured routine performance therefore require further research.