"Invisible Waste" Harms the Earth - It's Not Just Food We're Throwing Away. Six Habits to Protect Your Money, Time, and Future

1. Food Sleeping in the Back of the Refrigerator is Warming the World

Many families can relate to buying groceries in bulk over the weekend, only to find wilted vegetables or expired packages in the back of the refrigerator during the busy weekdays.

However, when these small "wastes" accumulate, they become a global issue. Research indicates that about 19% of the world's food, over 1 billion tons annually, is discarded, with about 60% of this food waste coming from households.Phys.org

In the UK alone, 6 million tons of food are wasted annually from households, resulting in approximately 16 million tons of CO₂ emissions, with household losses estimated to reach £17 billion per year.Phys.org

The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to halve household food waste by 2030, but progress is far from smooth.Phys.org

So, why do we waste so much food?

2. Food Waste is a "Difficult to Reduce" Behavior

The article introduced by Phys.org discusses a paper by researchers from the University of London and Scotland's Rural College, which organizes how to make reducing household food waste easier from the perspectives of behavioral science and systems thinking.Phys.org

Lead author Professor Katy Tapper describes household food waste as essentially,

• a problem we have to deal with every day

• Eating itself is unavoidable

• The act of "throwing away" involves many intertwined factors

making it very difficult to handle.Phys.org

Compared to obesity measures, the history of efforts by governments and researchers is still shallow, and the accumulation of policies is not sufficient. Moreover, food waste often gets mixed with "burnable garbage" in many households, making it difficult to realize how much one is actually throwing away.Phys.org

3. Six Strategies Proposed by the Research Team

The paper and the Phys.org article present six strategies to support the reduction of household food waste.Phys.org
Here, we introduce them while incorporating them into the image of daily life.

① Visibility

First, make it visible how much you are throwing away.

• Separate food waste from general wasteby using transparent bags or dedicated buckets for food waste.

• Even for just one week,take photos of the food you throw away and create an album on your smartphone

• Write down the "list of foods thrown away this week" on a whiteboard with your family

In the UK, municipalities are increasingly distributing small buckets dedicated to food waste and collecting them separately.Phys.org
This can lead to a "light shock" of realizing "I was throwing away this much," which can trigger behavioral change.

② Comparison

We become aware of our actions only when we compare ourselves to others.

• "How much food waste does an average household produce?"

• "Is my household producing more or less than that?"

Knowing this is important.

For example, by anonymously aggregating the amount of food waste per household through apps or municipal campaigns and showing comparisons with the "average in this area," a natural feeling of "we need to reduce too" arises.

In Japan, there are increasing cases where municipalities publish "food waste per person," but having a system that can bring this down to a household level daily sense makes it easier to lead to action.

③ Understanding & Opportunity

It is also important to set up "knowledge" and "environment" as a set.

• Understand the difference between expiration date and best-before date.

• Know theappropriate storage methodsfor refrigeration, freezing, and room temperature

• Make it easy to accessrecipes and remake techniquesto use up leftover ingredients

Having information alone does not lead to action without the "opportunity" to utilize it.
For example,

• Display "tips for freezing" or "easy recipes for leftovers" on supermarket shelves or product pages on e-commerce sites

• Include a standard feature in recipe apps that suggests recipes based on leftover ingredients in the refrigerator

Such efforts are close to the approach known as "nudging" in behavioral science.

④ Motivation

Even if we intellectually understand that "food waste is bad," it won't continue unless our hearts are moved. The research team points out the need to strengthen motivation from multiple perspectives such asmoney, environment, and social justice.Phys.org

• Household finances: "The average household throws away food worth ◯ yen annually."

• Environment: "Discarded food is thrown away while trapping a lot of CO₂ from fields, transportation, and refrigeration."

• Social justice: "There is enough food in the world, yet some people suffer from hunger."

On social media, stories that resonate tend to be those about CO₂ reduction for those interested in environmental issues, and the impact on household finances for those with a saving mindset.

⑤ Regulation

The research also points out that "there are limits to individual efforts alone."Phys.org

• Encouraging bulk purchasesthrough large packs and "value" sets

• Advertising and discount systems that make you buy more than necessary

• Disposal of "non-standard" vegetables just because they look bad

The profit structure of companies also contributes to food waste.

In response, Europe is seeing the spread of laws that restrict the disposal of still-edible food and encourage donations, as well as campaigns promoting the sale of unattractive vegetables. The reduction of household food waste is also seriously advanced only with suchregulatory support.

⑥ Updating System Goals

The final point is the fundamental question of "What is society aiming for in the first place?"

Currently, the policies of many countries prioritize **economic growth (GDP)** as the top indicator. However, the research team argues that if we are serious about reducing food waste,health, happiness, and sustainabilityshould also be firmly positioned as policy goals.Phys.org

For example,

• Include "amount of food waste reduction" and "nutritional balance per person" in municipal indicators

• Incorporate "life satisfaction" and "environmental impact" into evaluations, not just macroeconomic growth

Without such an "update of measures," it is difficult for companies and governments to seriously invest in food waste measures.

4. What is Being Discussed on Social Media

The Phys.org article has been shared on multiple social media platforms such as Threads, LinkedIn, and Facebook, spreading mainly among science-related accounts.Threads

Additionally, in English-speaking news curation sites, it has been picked up as a topic in the "social science" category, indicating that food waste is attracting attention not only as an environmental issue but also as a social and economic theme.Buzzing

Looking at the comment sections of posts dealing with food waste, the following reaction patterns are generally observed (not limited to this article, but as a trend for similar topics):

1. Voices of Empathy and Practice

   • "We've recently started actively buying discounted items."

   • "Since we started doing a 'leftovers buffet' on weekends, our waste has definitely decreased."
     There are many comments sharing small household tips, with hashtags like #foodwaste and #zerowaste.

2. Voices Pointing Out Structural Issues

   • "Before asking individuals to make an effort, supermarkets' advertising and the business model of the food industry should change."

   • "It's strange that small packs are more expensive even though I live alone."
     Here, the importance of "rules" and "system goals" pointed out by the research is discussed in the words of consumers.

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