Food waste is a major issue from various perspectives. During the process from harvest to the end consumer, almost one-third of food produced is wasted. It is not just the wasted food during the process that is concerning, there are issues in sustainability related to food waste that need to be considered. Moreover, there has been little attention to the issue of food waste in the downstream part of the supply chain and how specific behaviours affect the issue of wasting food.This thesis explores the food waste of fresh fruits and vegetables from a consumer´s perspective. To specify, the purpose of the study is to investigate the drivers of the disposal pattern of fresh fruit and vegetables, with an emphasis on the behaviour of "Generation Y" (born 1980 – 1995). Therefore, a revised model of the Theory of Planned Behaviour is applied. Also, to understand the behaviour of "Generation Y" regarding disposal, it is expected to identify impacts on the supply chain.A deductive approach is applied to this thesis. The qualitative study was conducted with open-ended survey questions to supplement the results with the answers of the respondents. The empirical data is collected from consumers within the “Generation Y” who usually purchase their fresh fruits and vegetables for their respective households. The data was analysed using the coding analysis which involves summarization and categorization of data.The results of the research reveal that external attitudinal factors such as price and marketing perception, storage habits, and quality consciousness and internal attitudinal factors such as sustainable environmental awareness, health consciousness, and subjective norms influence the respondents’ disposal behaviour. Moreover, the sustainable attitude of “Generation Y’’ leads to most of the consumers’ waste reduction, and highly influences the supply chain.

Each year, 1.3 billion tons of food produced for human consumption are lost or go to waste globally throughout the food supply chain (FSC). Increasing the efficiency of the entire FSC is an essential action in achieving food security for the global population, which includes reducing the amount of food lost and wasted. This thesis aims to contribute with rich insight into if and how contemporary information systems in grocery stores, which are part of the FSC, are supporting expiration date tracking and if they are contributing to reducing food waste. The study was carried out as a case study in three grocery stores, applying the task-technology fit model as its theoretical framework to guide the study and analyze the empirical results. The study found that the expiration date tracking systems in the grocery stores supported them in tracking expiration dates considering the measurements of task-technology fit since they sufficiently support and fulfill the needs of the users’ tasks, but that there is still room for improvement. The study also found that, according to the users’ perceptions, the grocery stores using expiration date tracking systems were able to prevent more food waste when using the systems in comparison to if they would not have been used.

Avfallsplanen i Danderyds kommun innefattar ett delmål år 2012 att materialåtervinning ska öka med 40 % från 2009 års nivå. I materialåtervinning inkluderas biologisk behandling av matavfall. En möjlig åtgärd för att uppfylla detta mål är att införa insamling av matavfall för rötning. För att ett införande av matavfallsinsamling ska bli så framgångsrikt som möjligt är det viktigt att studera kommuninvånarnas inställning till detta. En litteraturstudie genomfördes för att undersöka om rötning är en lämplig behandlingsmetod för matavfall för Danderyds kommun. Ytterligare studerades olika insamlingssystem för matavfall, miljöstyrande taxa, erfarenheter från kommuner med matavfallsinsamling och faktorer som styr människors beteende för källsortering. Inga entydiga resultat finns för att rötning är den mest lämpliga behandlingsmetoden för matavfall men det finns många fördelar såsom, produktion av biogas som är en bristvara i Stockholmsområdet, kretsloppet sluts och näringsämnen och mullbildande ämnen återförs till jorden, utsortering av matavfall kan också ge ett ökat intresse för övrig källsortering och att biogas är ett förnyelsebart bränsle. En enkät formulerades och skickades ut till 1000 hushåll, 600 i småhus och 400 i flerfamiljshus för att undersöka de boendes attityd i Danderyds kommun. Svarsfrekvensen för utskicket uppgick till 60 % men endast 39 % var rätt ifyllda för vidare analys av resultatet för småhus och 30 % för flerfamiljshus. Intresset för matavfallsinsamling var stort; nästan 70 % av hushållen i småhus och ungefär 60 % i flerfamiljshus var positivt inställda eller mycket positivt inställda till utsortering av matavfall. 90 % var villiga att göra en stor eller en viss ansträngning vid ett eventuellt införande av matavfallsinsamling. Resultatet från enkäten gav också att 60 % av kommuninvånarna är beredda att förändra sin livsstil till förmån för miljön. När det gällde källsortering angav de svarande att det största problemet var tillgängligheten till återvinningsstationer och att fastighetsnära insamling definierades som den största motivationsåtgärden från Danderyds kommun. Utifrån de förutsättningar som finns i Danderyds kommun och den organisation som finns för avfallshantering och för att uppnå de miljömål som är definierade i avfallsplanen till 2012 föreslås insamling av matavfall för rötning. För att få hög kvalitet på matavfallet bör det samlas in i papperspåse och det utsorterade matavfallet placeras i separat, ventilerat kärl för hushåll i småhus. Vidare föreslås att anslutning till matavfallsinsamling ska vara frivillig. För att motivera kommuninvånarna till att sortera ut sitt matavfall föreslås också att avfallstaxan ska vara miljöstyrd, d.v.s. anslutning till matavfallsinsamling ska ge en lägre avfallstaxa än om ingen utsortering sker och att kommunen ska förse hushållet med lämplig utrustning för matavfallsinsamling. Flerfamiljshus har olika förutsättningar beroende av hur fastighetens avfallsutrymme är dimensionerat och avfallshanteringen bör lösas från fall till fall, en öppen kommunikation mellan avfallsplaneraren och fastighetsförvaltaren bör etableras för att anslutning till matavfallsinsamling ska bli framgångsrik för de boende i fastigheten, kommunen och renhållningsarbetarna. / The municipality of Danderyd is one of the smallest municipalities in Sweden in terms of area it covers. There are about 30 000 inhabitants distributed on 12 710 households. Each inhabitant in Danderyd generates about 220 kg of household waste per year. An analysis of the content of the waste bags was performed in 2009. The conclusion was that the household waste contains about 50 % of food waste and almost 25 % of packaging waste that are included in the recycle scheme for packaging in Sweden; hence there is plenty of material that potentially could be recycled in each waste bag in Danderyd. The waste management plan of the municipality of Danderyd contains different goals that should be fulfilled by the year 2020, there are also some sub targets that should be met by the years 2012 and 2016. One of the sub targets is that the recycling of recyclable material should increase by 40 % compared to the level 2009, including biological treatment of organic waste. One possible measure to reach this sub target is to implement collection of food waste from the households. In order to introduce a possible collection of organic waste, it is important to investigate the attitude towards such a scheme of the inhabitants in Danderyd. Therefore, this study has been performed as a master thesis on the request of the city municipal of the municipality of Danderyd. A questionnaire was distributed to 1000 households in Danderyd, 600 to single family house and 400 to households in multiple dwellings. A literature review was also performed in order to find out if anaerobic digestion is a suitable method to treat the collected organic waste in Danderyd in an economical and environmental perspective. Furthermore, different collection systems for organic waste, differentiated environmental waste collection fees, experience from municipalities that already have a collection of organic waste and factors for successful recycling of recyclable materials were also studied in the literature review. There was no unequivocal result that fermentation of organic waste is the most suitable treatment method of food waste. There are advantages such as; the closure of the material loop, nutrients are recycled back to soil, production of biogas that is a renewable fuel and could replace fossil fuel, biogas is also a scare commodity in the area of Stockholm and the separation and recycling of organic waste could increase the interest of environmental issues and also increase the recycling of other recyclable packaging materials. The questionnaire was returned by 60 % of the households but only 39 % of the questionnaire from single family households and 30 % of the households in multiple dwellings were completed correctly. Furthermore, the result showed that there was a large interest for an introduction of collection of organic waste, almost 70 % of the household in villas and about 60 % of households in multiple dwellings said that they were very interested or interested in participating in a collection scheme of organic waste. Of the household 90 % answered that they were prepared to make a large effort or some effort to separate their food waste if an introduction of a recycling scheme of food waste was made. There was also a large interest in environmental issues and 60 % of the households answered that they thought their life style affected the environment and that they were prepared to change their life style to the benefit of the environment. Regarding the recycling of other recyclable materials, the respondents answered that the largest problem was the availability of recycling stations and that collection of packaging waste at the property was requested as the largest motivation measure that the municipality could offer in order to increase recycling. Based on the condition in Danderyd, the existing organization of waste management and in order to reach the environmental sub targets that are defined in the waste management plan, is an introduction of a collection scheme of food waste for anaerobic digestion suggested. The organic waste should be gathered in paper bags and placed in a separate ventilated garbage bin for single family households. The conditions of the refuse chamber differ for multiple dwellings; therefore the possibility to separate organic waste should be organized for each property. The municipality should establish an open communication with each estate manager in order to facilitate the affiliation to the food waste collection scheme. Furthermore, the affiliation to the food waste collection scheme should be optional in order to achieve good quality of the food waste. To motivate the inhabitants to join the collection scheme, a differentiated environmental waste fee is suggested. The municipality should also provide suitable equipment for the collection of food waste.

Food waste and fashion pollution are two of the significant global environmental issues throughout the recent past. In this research, it was investigated the feasibility of making a leather-like material from bread waste using biotechnology as the bridging mechanism. The waste bread collected from the supermarkets were used as the substrate to grow filamentous fungi species Rhizopus Delemar and Fusarium Venenatum. Tanning of fungal protein fibres was successfully performed using vegetable tanning, confirmed using FTIR and SEM images. Furthermore, glycerol and a biobased binder treatment was performed for the wet-laid fungal microfibre sheets produced. Overall, three potential materials were able to produce with tensile strengths ranging from 7.74 ± 0.55 MPa to 6.92 ± 0.51 MPa and the elongation% from 16.81 ± 1.61 to 4.82 ± 0.36. The binder treatment enhanced the hydrophobicity even after the glycerol treatment, an added functional advantage for retaining flexibility even after contact with moisture. The fungal functional material produced with bread waste can be tailored successfully into leather substitutes using an environmentally benign procedure.

To counteract the climate crisis and the environmental changes that come with it, gamified systems can be implemented. Studies show that food waste is a major contributing factor to the climate crisis, and that the largest proportion of food waste occurs in households. This study examines gamification and the game elements that can contribute to motivating and creating engagement in households to reduce food waste. Gamification utilizes game elements in non-gaming contexts, and has proven useful in other areas, such as health and education. The study involves a literature review, where previous research is compiled and the need for this study is clarified. This study presents which game elements that can reduce food waste in households, based on analysis of qualitative data collected through interviews. The study contributes with guiding knowledge about which game elements a gamified system should contain to achieve reduced food waste. / För att motverka klimatkrisen och miljöförändringarna som kommer med den kan spelifierade system implementeras. Studier visar att matsvinn är en stor bidragande faktor till klimatkrisen, och att den största andel matsvinn sker i hemmet. Denna studie undersöker spelifiering och vilka spelelement som kan bidra till att motivera och skapa engagemang hos hushåll för att minska matsvinnet. Spelifiering använder sig av spelelement i icke-spelsammanhang, och har visat sig användbart inom andra områden, såsom hälsa och utbildning. Studien involverar en litteraturundersökning, där tidigare forskning sammanställs och behovet för denna studie klargörs. Denna studie presenterar vilka spelelement som kan minska matsvinn i hushåll, baserat på analys av kvalitativa data samlat genom intervjuer. Studien bidrar med vägledande kunskap om vilka spelelement ett spelifierat system bör innehålla för att uppnå reducerat matsvinn.

Av all mat som produceras slängs ca en tredjedel, av det beräknas upp till 50% vara svinn. Svinn är onödigt matavfall, sådant som hade kunnat ätas om det hanterats annorlunda. Exempelvis en grönsak som blivit möglig. Hushållen står för den absolut största delen av det onödiga matavfallet och det är personer i enpersonshushåll som slänger mest per person och år. Denna studie har undersökt svinnet av färsk frukt och grönsaker, eftersom det är det livsmedel som slängs mest frekvent. Att slänga mat är att slösa på resurser vilket drabbar miljön och naturen negativt. Det finns mycket forskning på hur mycket mat som slängs och hur det påverkar miljön negativt, men det finns inte lika mycket forskning kring vad som genererar svinnet och varför. Denna studie har därför, med forskning genom design, undersökt bakomliggande faktorer till svinn och hur design kan användas som ett hjälpmedel för att minska svinnet. Det samlades empiri från personer i enpersonshushåll genom enkätundersökning, observation och intervju - svinnkarta, loggböcker. Det som framkom var att alla personer som var delaktiga slänger grönt någon eller flera gånger i veckan trots att nästan alla personer uttryckte att de endast slänger lite eller inget alls. Frukt och grönt slängs oftast på grund av att de glöms bort, oftast i grönsakslådorna i kylskåpet och blir dåliga vid förvaring. Studien fokuserade på lösningar kring hur frukt och grönt kan synliggöras och stödjas vid förvaring för att förebygga svinn. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur forskning genom design kan bidra till minskning av svinn för personer i enpersonshushåll, och ta fram en förebyggande åtgärd. Slutsatsen är att en förebyggande produkt bör erbjuda god förvaring samtidigt som frukt och grönt synliggörs så att det ej glöms bort. Denna studie visar ett exempel på hur en sådan produkt skulle kunna se ut. / Of all the food produced, about one-third is discarded, of which up to 50% is estimated to be avoidable food waste, avoidable food waste is unnecessary food waste, food that could have been eaten if it had been managed better. For example, moldy vegetables. Households account for the largest part of the unnecessary food waste and single person households waste the most food on a per capita basis. This study has examined the waste of fresh fruits and vegetables, as it is the most frequently thrown food. Wasting food is to waste resources which harmfully affects the environment and nature. There is a lot of research on how much food is thrown away and how it affects the environment in a negative way, but there is a lack of research on what is driving the waste. This study, therefore, with research through design, examined the underlying factors of wasting food and how design can be used as an aid to reduce the avoidable waste. Empirical data were gathered from people living in single households. This has been done through internet-based survey, observation and interview and probes. What emerged was that all people throw away fresh fruit and vegetables between one to five times a week even though almost everyone expressed that they do not throw much. Fruits and vegetables are usually thrown away because they are forgotten, usually in the refrigerator boxes caused of the lack of visibility. This study focused on solutions on how to prevent fruit and vegetable from being wasted, by exposing the fresh fruit and vegetables when stored and supporting produce while storing. The purpose of this study was to investigate how research through design can contribute to reducing wastage for individuals in single-person households, and to develop a preventive invention. The conclusion is that a preventive solution should support the fresh fruit and vegetables and at the same time make them visible when stored so that it is not forgotten and thus thrown away. This study shows an example of how such a product could look like.

El presente trabajo de investigación tiene como propósito determinar la gestión de desperdicios de alimentos por parte del sector hoteles, restaurantes y cafeterías (HORECA) y sus potenciales usos. En la actualidad a nivel mundial la contaminación por residuos sólidos ocurre principalmente por la generación de desperdicio de alimentos siendo 121 kilogramos de alimentos por consumidor cada año. Es por ello que resulta importante conocer la gestión de desperdicios en el sector HORECA y así contribuimos a disminuir estas cifras. Para realizar esta investigación se utilizó como metodología la revisión de literatura con enfoque integrador, que señala el uso de fuentes como artículos académicos, tesis, libros, revistas académicas y publicaciones académicas con una antigüedad no mayor a cinco años. El estudio admite conocer la gestión de desperdicios a través de un enfoque administrativo, puesto que se analizan políticas, procedimientos y sugerencias para la disminución de desperdicios alimentarios y a partir de ahí tomar acciones que ayuden a reducir la generación de residuos. Los resultados indican que cada centro de generación de alimentos debe de contar con una plana humana que se encargue de gestionar los suministros alimenticios puesto que se debe de separar a través de una categorización a los alimentos de pérdidas y desperdicios para que a partir de ello se tome una decisión sobre ellos que ser en caso de perdidas puede esta ser usada para un rehusó de alimentos o como donación para algún banco de alimentos punto clave en todo sector HORECA. / The purpose of this research work is to determine the management of food waste by the hotel, restaurant and cafeteria sector (HORECA) and its potential uses. At present worldwide, solid waste pollution occurs mainly due to the generation of food waste, being 121 kilograms of food per consumer each year. For that reason it is important to know how to manage food waste in the HORECA sector and thus we contribute to reducing these figures. The research methodology employed was a literature review with an integrative approach was used as a methodology, which indicates the use of sources such as academic articles, theses, books, academic journals and academic publications no more than five years old. The study admits knowing waste management through an administrative approach, since policies, procedures and suggestions for reducing food waste are analyzed and from there taking actions that help reduce waste generation. The results indicate that each food generation center must have a human team that is in charge of managing food supplies since it must be separated through a categorization of food losses and waste so that from it make a decision about them that in case of losses it can be used for a food refusal or as a donation for a food bank key point in every HORECA sector. / Trabajo de investigación

The practice of gleaning began as a way for the poor to provide sustenance for themselves and their families. Changes in societal ideas about private property as well as a shift toward a neoliberal style of governance have caused gleaning to become what it is today: a practice primarily undertaken by charitable organizations, nonprofits, and church groups who then donate their bounty to local food banks, providing fresh produce to the food insecure. In modern society, gleaning is often held up as a single solution to the problems of food insecurity, poor nutrition, and food waste. This thesis complicates that discourse by analyzing the websites of five different San Francisco Bay Area gleaning groups to investigate how they present themselves as fitting into the larger conversation surrounding food charity, health, and food waste. This thesis uses qualitative and quantitative textual analysis to show how the language used on each organization’s website illustrates the organization’s relationship with those three values. Each organization presents itself as fitting into contemporary food recovery discourse in a different way: one focuses primarily on community building; one is looking to expand its model as far as possible; one seeks to be a solution to poor nutrition, food insecurity, and food waste in its community; one provides myriad resources to anyone looking; and one actively embraces the food insecure. The differences among these organizations show the one-dimensionality of the current discourse surrounding gleaning as a single solution to food insecurity, poor nutrition, and food waste. While gleaning can, and does, have value, its focus on the individual’s role in solving food insecurity, poor nutrition, and food waste, as well as its inability to provide long-term solutions, complicates its role in contemporary food recovery.

Sustainable consumption and reducing food waste have become critical issues in recent years as the world faces environmental and humanitarian challenges. This study aims to identify the perspectives of various actors (social workers, representatives from local organizations, and an individual) on social work interventions towards food waste reduction in Gävle Sweden, and their potential benefits to the environment and vulnerable individuals. A qualitative study through semi-structured interviews of five participants was conducted by the researchers, to identify the perspectives of actors in social work intervention programs related to sustainable consumption and food waste reduction. The result of the interview was transcribed and analyzed using the Atlas. Tue 23. The study identified awareness and campaigns, collaborations with local businesses and organizations with regard to food banks and donations, and food recovery and redistribution programs as social work interventions on sustainable consumption through food waste reduction. The social work interventions identified the positive impacts they have on the environment and vulnerable individuals.

Bread waste represents a significant portion of global food waste, necessitating innovative approaches for its valorization. This research project explores the utilization of bread waste through fermentation with Aspergillus oryzae to produce fungal film which could be used for textile applications. While previous studies have examined various applications of food waste, this project specifically targets the textile industry, aiming to mitigate pollution associated with conventional textile manufacturing. The objective of this project was to investigate the feasibility of creating fungal films derived from bread waste. Additionally, to analyze the material's properties through assessments of tensile strength, microscopic analysis, and the identification of an appropriate methodology for this investigation. The biomass suspension was prepared using an ultrafine grinder, and a kitchen blender was subsequently employed to minimize the presence of remaining solids from the grinding process. Additionally, a range of strategies for film casting and wet laying were implemented and evaluated. Wet laying involved combining fungal biomass with tannin to mimic the characteristics of leather. On the other hand, casting utilized pre-treated biomass suspension to assess the formation and quality of the films. As the research progressed and different tannins were used to treat the biomass, a methodology was developed, and glycerol was introduced as a plasticizer. Furthermore, nanocellulose was later incorporated exclusively for the casting of the films to serve as a binder. The films that were produced gave interesting results are observed in casted sheets containing nanocellulose and glycerol-infused biomass (3% BM + 2% Cellulose + 0.13 g Glycerol), exhibiting exceptional tensile strength (35.1 ± 3.42 MPa) and elongation (16.7 ± 5.98%). Wet laid biomass sheets treated with Tara and glycerol display tensile strength (19.9 ± 3.55 MPa) and elongation (6.66 ± 3.02%). These findings signify the potential for developing fungal films from bread waste, necessitating further research to refine methodologies. Overall, this research project paves the way for future advancements in fungal films derived from bread waste. By investigating the use of Aspergillus oryzae and employing wet laying and casting techniques, the project establishes a foundation for sustainable textile production. The successful utilization of bread waste not only addresses the issue of food waste but also contributes to reducing pollution in the textile industry.