The Effectiveness of Intervention Measures Using Support Tools in Reducing Household Food Waste: Research of Food Waste Reduction Using Cloud-Based Automatic Weighing System

Abstract

Food waste is a global issue, and in Japan, about half of food waste is generated by households. In this research, a cloud-based automatic weighing system was used to measure the amount of food waste at home. The research was conducted during 6 weeks among 119 households in Japan, which have two or more family members, in 20s to 70s age groups. We asked all participants to separate food waste and put them into a dedicated waste bin. During the intervention period, three tools to support food waste reduction, refrigerator organizers, photo taking, and a food management app, were used as intervention measures. They were assigned to 89 households and the remaining 30 households served as the control group. The amount of food waste before and after the intervention, by tool, decreased by 176 g (51%) for the organizing goods, 177 g (43%) for picture taking, and 129 g (29%) for the app. The intervention group as a whole decreased by an average of 160 g (40%), with no rebound occurring during the follow-up period approximately three months later. Analysis by two-way analysis of variance in a mixed design showed that the interaction was significant at a risk rate of less than 5%, suggesting an effect of the intervention.