Food waste is a huge current problem with annually approximately 1.3 billion tonnes wasted annually (The World Counts 2024). This is a complex issue as food production can be a complex process with lots of steps that can generate waste between the farm and the plate like transport (food may not still be fit for consumption when it reaches the consumer) and potentially transformation of the produce (such as washing, packaging, cooking or freezing for instance) (Brussels.environment 2020). Whilst data indicates that household waste was similar across high‑income, upper middle-income and lower middle-income countries (UNEP 2021), my project will focus on users within European countries (Norway, UK and Switzerland included) as Europeans alone are responsible on average for 72.5 kg of food waste per person per year (UNEP 2021). I will specifically focus on habits and behaviours of the consumer at the household level as this is where 17% of food waste occurs (Loran 2021).
The aim of the project is to understand how modern Europeans are behaving with the food they buy and propose a technological solution to help make their food last instead of spoil, this also has the knock-on effect of making the money spent on food last longer too. In Brussels for instance most people answer on questionnaires that they do not waste food and yet a study of bins, including those of people who claim not to waste food, revealed just the opposite (GoodFood.brussels 2016). This dissonance between desire and action is an area with lots of room for innovation in which a UX first approach could help find a solution. As a resident of Brussels, I have access to several other Europeans across a variety of different households (shared accommodation, living alone, living with parents) who I can interview and with whom I can test product iterations.
The project will try to answer the problem question: How can we help modern European households to waste less food?
BRUSSELS.ENVIRONNEMENT. 2020. ‘Réduire mon gaspillage alimentaire’ [Reducing food waste (My translation)]. Brussels Environnment May 2020. Available at : https://environnement.brussels/citoyen/lenvironnement-bruxelles/agir-eco-responsable/reduire-mon-gaspillage-alimentaire [accessed 30th January 2024]
GOODFOOD.BRUSSELS. 2016. ‘Brochure “Manger bien, jeter moin”’ [Eat better, throw out less (My translation)]. GoodFood.brussels May 2016*.* Available at: https://goodfood.brussels/fr/moins-gaspiller-documentation?domain=cit [accessed 30th January 2024]
LORAN, Sophie. 2021. ‘UN: 17% of all food available at consumer levels is wasted’. UN Environment Programme March 2021. Available at: https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/un-17-all-food-available-consumer-levels-wasted [accessed 30th January 2024]
THE WORLD COUNTS. 2024. ‘Food waste statistics’. The World Counts. Available at: https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/hunger-and-obesity/food-waste-statistics [accessed 30th January 2024]
UNEP. 2021. ‘UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021’. United Nation Environment Programme March 2021. Available at: https://www.unep.org/resources/report/unep-food-waste-index-report-2021 [accessed 30th January 2024]