Consumers’ Perspective on Circular Economy Strategy for Reducing Food Waste

By M. Borrello, Francesco Caracciolo, A. Lombardi, S. Pascucci, L. Cembalo. 2017

313 citations recorded by the source corpus.

The current linear system of production and consumption is unsustainable. In the food sector, despite the fact that valuable natural resources are intensively used to produce and distribute food products, little is done to upcycle residues generated along the supply chain. Circular economy strategies are crucial for restructuring the take-make-dispose model through the active participation of all actors of supply chains. However, little is known about consumers’ willingness to participate in circular economy. A structured questionnaire was submitted to a representative sample of Italian households to assess the willingness of consumers to be actively involved in closed loops aiming at reducing food waste. Consumers are involved by returning their organic food waste to retailers in exchange for discounts on the purchase of animal products. The organic food waste returned enters in the production process of animal products. A choice experiment was designed to analyse alternative programs. Two scenarios were presented: one with a traditional technology (composting), and a second one with a radically innovative technology (insects as feed). Preferences and trade-offs, in monetary terms, among attributes were computed. Results depict a comprehensive portrait of the potential participation of consumers to closed loops inspired by the principles of circular economy.

Subfields: Food Science, Marketing, Strategy and Management

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/0089b6b20b2d1fe48cd35fa711e9459cf6325443

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Citations in the corpus

Dealing with the game-changing technologies of Agriculture 4.0: How do we manage diversity and responsibility in food system transition pathways? (2020, unknown): “…and the ways in which products are composed by food manufacturers, sold by retailers, bought by end-consumers, and food waste is prevented (Brandt and Barrangou, 2019; Bronson, 2018; Burton, 2019; Creamer et al., 2002; Ezeomah and Duncombe, 2019; Lowry et al., 2019; Rotz et al., 2019;…”
Addressing the Social Aspects of a Circular Economy: A Systematic Literature Review (2020, background): “In studies reviewed, different goals and scopes are pursued, from the decision making progress [61], stakeholders interest and perceptions of bio economy [62] to consumers’ perspective on CE strategies for reducing wastes [63].”