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Sammanfattning

Reducing food waste across food supply chains is crucial for achieving global environmental goals, but the impact of organisational strategy and social factors on food waste in public catering is not well understood. This study aimed to quantify and explain the drivers of food waste in Swedish school canteens by analysing data at three levels: the organisational, the school, and the individual level. The analysis combined national survey data (n = 111 municipalities), schoollevel quantification data (n = 693 schools), and 1722 individual on-site observations. The results show that municipalities with a higher share of guests eating in production kitchens had lower food waste (Spearman’s ρ = − 0.23) while having an explicit food waste reduction goal did not affect food waste levels (45 vs 47 g per guest). At the school level, student age was moderately correlated with plate waste (Kendall’s τ = 0.34), with older students wasting about twice as much food as younger ones (36 vs 18 g per guest). At the individual level, extroverted students and those in group settings generated more waste (on average 67 g per waster).The findings point to complementary roles of organisational factors and guest behaviour in shaping food waste generation, highlighting the potential of interventions that address both.

Nyckelord

Food waste prevention; Plate waste; Public catering; Organisational strategies; Social factors; Sustainable food systems

Publicerad i

Environmental Development
2026, volym: 57, artikelnummer: 101386

SLU författare

UKÄ forskningsämne

Miljövetenskapliga studier inom samhällsvetenskap
Miljöteknik och miljöledning

Publikationens identifierare

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2025.101386

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/144731