From recent researches in other European countries, e.g. [3,6], it emerges that the behavioral trend is influenced by the pressure of the market and the high availability of food, which appears as something naturally guaranteed. Consumers have little consciousness of the amount of exploited resources necessary to bring food on their tables.
direction, we also rely on the collaboration with local authorities. Indeed, for example in Italy, many municipalities have already committed themselves – at least symbolically - recently signing an agreement (“Carta Sprecozero”) in order to reduce their waste. Of course, the model we propose is easily reproducible in any country.
Our aim is to provide households with the tools to self-monitor their daily behavior concerning food waste and actively raise their sensitivity to the issue, through an app making them aware of the resources they lose. Detailed information on food waste and the direct involvement of the individuals will have a strong impact on people education. Since the change will be extremely effective if it starts from the youngest generations, we will dedicate particular attention to them, cooperating with schools and potentially reaching thousands of youngsters.
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By the everyday use of the technological supports we distribute, the user will enhance his/her interest and knowledge on topics related to food. In this way, he/she will get familiar with issues like water and carbon footprint, landfill, soil exploitation, and will start acquiring the right sensitivity to be transmitted to future generations. Quantitatively, a large amount of collected data will allow us to perform a series of different analyses. We will be able to determine the incidence of each macro-category among wasted foodstuffs; assess the economic value of disposed food out of the households’ balance; evaluate the total environmental, ecological and economic impact of discarded food for the society (following the approach outlined in [8]); get indications about people habits towards food.
Besides creating awareness in the population, the app will collect quantitative data, giving an estimate of the amount of food waste at household level. Indeed, from a quantitative point of view, the situation is absolutely not clear. WRAP estimates 330 kg/household/year of food waste in the UK, while according to the Italian researches [5,6,7] the loss amounts to 165 kg/household/year. These data are sometimes collected by means of questionnaires and not through an analytical procedure, hence relying on the consumer’s perception of his waste habits, often underestimating the real size of the problem.
Our project will provide local institutions with reliable data, representing the first step to tailor targeted awareness campaigns specifically addressed to the different social segments. Indirectly, on a long time perspective, the improvement of people's attitude towards food waste will have important social benefits: lighter fiscal impositions, lower environmental impact and better policies about waste management.
Both the educational and the quantitative branches of our project aim at contributing to a progressive sensitization of the population on the multifaceted aspects related to Food and Earth.
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APPLICATION AND RESULTS
DESCRIPTION
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Exploiting the potential of web, social networks and apps, our project aims at stimulating the active participation of the population, in particular the youngest generations. To this aim, we have designed two tools: the website “sprecoalimentare.it” partially developed in a trial version - and the app “i-dontwaste” for smartphones and tablets, where users can keep track of their household daily food waste by filling in a “waste diary”. The structure of the diary is realized in order for the user to be able to record, through a low number of touches/clicks, the original typology of the food wasted, its weight, the reason for and the way of disposal. Captivating graphics will provide an optimal visual platform for young people, stimulating a “gamification” of their daily diary.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Due to the complex current situation, people are growing receptive and sensitive to more sustainable styles of life, but they often miss a tool to self-evaluate and find tutorial advice for change. We aim at contributing in filling the gap, putting the participants in our project at the center of the scene.
Acknowledgements: The idea has been conceived inside the MCA 2012 – Master in Complex Actions organized by SISSA – International School for Advanced Studies, Trieste. We wish to acknowledge the contribution of Davide Rossi, with whom the draft of the project has been developed. We would also like to thank the MCA organizers for their constant support during our intellectual exploration of the contemporary global challenges.
Targeted and personalized statistics, advice (recipes, alternative ways of using discarded food, etc.) and “scores” will be automatically delivered to the users on a regular basis, to stimulate their interest and possibly improve their behavior. We will have access to aggregate data in order to produce partial reports and outlooks which might be helpful to public institutions. A reasonable time-schedule to collect a statistically significant set of data is around two years, also due to the seasonality of the phenomenon of food waste; however, partial data will already be elaborated after 9-12 months. Their presentation at meetings and conferences will bring to the public further motivation to pursue a “zero-waste” style of life.
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REFERENCES
[1] Food behaviour consumer research: quantitative phase, WRAP, 2006 [2] Understanding consumer food management behaviour, WRAP, 2006 [3] F. Schneider and S. Lebersorger, Households attitudes and behaviour towards wasting foods – a case study, in: Sardinia 2007 Eleventh International Waste Management and Landfill Symposium
Schools represent a key channel to spread the project among young people; we aim at involving a large number of students by presenting the task of filling in the diary both as a game and a homework, especially in primary schools. To start a contact in this
[4] Household food and drink waste in the UK, WRAP, 2009
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[5] Indagine sugli sprechi alimentari domestici, ADOC, 2011 [6] A. Segrè and L. Falasconi, Il libro nero dello spreco in Italia: il cibo, Edizioni Ambiente, Frosinone, 2011 [7] P. Garrone, M. Melacini and A. Perego, Dar da mangiare agli affamati - Le eccedenze alimentari come opportunità , Edizioni Guerini, Milano, 2012 [8] Lo spreco alimentare: cause, impatti e proposte, Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition, 2012
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