Pilot survey on the food waste generation and treatment in Slovene households applying the method of keeping a kitchen diary

Uvod: Tretjino hrane, proizvedene za prehrano ljudi, zavržemo. Nastajanje odpadne hrane, ki je sporno z več vidikov (okoljskega, ekonomskega in socialnega), povzročajo v največji meri gospodinjstva. Merjenje količin odpadne hrane v gospodinjstvih je zaradi različnih načinov ravnanja z njo kompleksno. Del odpadne hrane iz gospodinjstev se odda v javni sistem ravnanja z odpadki, določen del odpadne hrane iz gospodinjstev pa konča zunaj javnega sistema ravnanja z odpadki (kompostiranje v hišnih kompostnikih, kanalizacijsko omrežje, krma za živali ipd.). Na mednarodni ravni usklajene metodologije za merjenje količin odpadne hrane še vedno ni. Namen: Namen magistrskega dela je bil pridobiti podatke o nastajanju odpadne hrane in ravnanju z njo v gospodinjstvih ter na podlagi tega določiti delež odpadne hrane (užitnega in neužitnega dela), ki konča zunaj javnega sistema ravnanja z odpadki, opredeliti delež užitnega in neužitnega dela odpadne hrane, ugotoviti sestavo odpadne hrane glede na vrsto živil ter testirati izbrano metodo anketiranja. Metode dela: Uporabili smo eksperimentalno metodo in izpeljali pilotno raziskavo o nastajanju odpadne hrane in ravnanju z njo v gospodinjstvih. V okviru te smo z metodo samoanketiranja (vodenje kuhinjskega dnevnika), pridobili podatke od 122 naključno izbranih gospodinjstev. Anketirana gospodinjstva so na podlagi pripravljenega vprašalnika sedem zaporednih dni merila (tehtala) in beležila nastajanje odpadne hrane in svoje ravnanje z njo. Rezultati: Anketirana gospodinjstva so v opazovanem obdobju zavrgla ali obdelala zunaj javnega sistema ravnanja z odpadki 39,9 % proizvedene odpadne hrane. Užitni del odpadne hrane je predstavljal 32,4 %, neužitni del pa 67,6 % vse proizvedene odpadne hrane. V okviru užitnega dela odpadne hrane so v tem obdobju zavrgla največ zelenjave (26,9 %) in kruha (15,0 %), v okviru neužitnega dela pa olupke in lupine sadja (35,2 %) in zelenjave (31,5 %). Metodo anketiranja (vodenje kuhinjskega dnevnika) so anketirana gospodinjstva ocenila kot preprosto in hitro. Razprava in zaključek: S pilotno raziskavo želimo na podlagi podatkov o količini in vrsti odpadne hrane, ki smo jih pridobili neposredno pri izvirnem povzročitelju, prispevati k nadgradnji na SURS postavljene metodologije za spremljanje količin odpadne hrane v gospodinjstvih. Dodana vrednost magistrskega dela so analize vpliva različnih socialno-demografskih značilnosti anketiranih gospodinjstev na nastajanje odpadne hrane in na ravnanje z njo. Količinsko ovrednotenje odpadne hrane je nujno za oblikovanje učinkovite politike preprečevanja nastajanja odpadne hrane in ravnanja z njo ter ovrednotenje uspešnosti pri doseganju ciljev preprečevanja oziroma zmanjševanja proizvedene količine odpadne hrane.Introduction: A third of food produced for human consumption is discarded. Food waste generation is controversial from various aspects (environmental, economic and social). Most of the food waste is generated in householdshowever, measuring these amounts is rather difficult because of different ways of handling waste. Some food waste from households ends within the public waste treatment system and some outside this system (home composting system, sewage system, as animal feed, etc.). There is still no consistent international methodology on measuring food waste. Purpose: The purpose of the master\u27s thesis is to obtain data on food waste generation and treatment in households and based on that determine the share of food waste (edible and inedible part) that ends up outside the public waste treatment system, determine the share of edible and inedible part of food waste, determine the composition of food waste by type of food, and test the selected survey method. Methods: The experimental method was used and the pilot survey was carried out. Within the latter the data were obtained from 122 randomly selected households with a self-survey method (filling in a kitchen diary). On the basis of the questionnaire, for seven consecutive days, households had to weigh their food waste and define the method of treatment. Results: Households included in the survey disposed 39.9% of food waste outside the public waste treatment system. The edible part of generated food waste accounted for 32.4% and the inedible part for 67.6% of total food waste. Within the edible part of food waste, the type of food which ended as food waste was primarily vegetables (26.9% of food waste) and bread (15.0%), while within the inedible part that was mostly peels and shells of fruit (35.2%) and vegetables (31.5%). The survey method (filling in a kitchen diary) was evaluated by households as simple and fast. Discussion and conclusion: The aim of the pilot survey was to supplement the existing SURS methodology on monitoring the amount of food waste in households with the help of data on the amount and type of food waste obtained directly from original producers. Added value of the Master’s Thesis is the analysis of the impact of socio-demographic characteristics of surveyed households on food waste generation and treatment. The quantitative evaluation of food waste is essential for developing effective policies on preventing food waste generation and treatment and for evaluating the effectiveness of achieving goals of food waste prevention and decreasing its amounts