Household food waste in Greece: A questionnaire survey

The challenge of reducing Food Waste (FW) is a complex social, economic and environmental problem. Fortunately, the realization of FWs huge negative impact on society has triggered –in the last five years-a positive turn of focus towards the development of a common understanding of the phenomenon, the identification of its root causes and the initiation of coordinated actions to increase citizen awareness and mitigate negative consequences of FW at all levels of the food supply chain. This paper focuses on the last downstream tier of the food supply chain, i.e. the households, which are reported in literature as being responsible for eight times the energy waste of post-harvest losses on average due to the energy consumed along the supply chain and in food preparation. This study attempts to investigate the effects of shopping habits, like promotional intensive shopping and using shopping lists and eating preferences, like cooking, eating out or ordering in, on food waste generation. In doing so, the results of a survey of 500 Greek households are presented, showing that indeed, household behaviours towards shopping and eating are important food waste determinants and should not be underestimated. Furthermore, the results of this study highlight the need for more research targeted in this area, with the objective to increase consumers' awareness and problem comprehension, enhance their commitment and create the necessary environment for triggering meaningful behavioral changes capable of creating long-term and sustainable results.