Household Food Waste Source Separation: A New Zealand Context with a Focus on Auckland
Year: 2024
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Source separation has been well recognised as a critical step in waste management; well-sorted and segregated waste at source helps dramatically reduce cross-contamination, improve diversion from landfills, and improve material and resource recovery. However, there are still many challenges in various areas, such as low participation, lack of public awareness and practical difficulties, which leave significant room for improvement. Researchers from different regions and countries have been investigating this issue from different angles and experimented with various solutions to improve the quality of source separation. This thesis dives into household food waste separation in a New Zealand context. It carries out case studies on recent trials and programs conducted by different regional and city councils, with a specific focus on the current roll-out of Auckland Food Scrap Bins Service, and investigates the effectiveness of the trials and programs, the feedback from the participants, and tries to identify potential issues that hinder the participation and hence the effectiveness of the program. It also investigates similar trials and programs conducted internationally, especially the ones implementing different solutions and systems. The thesis employs a survey guided by planned behaviour theory to gather feedback from Auckland residents. It also uses secondary data published by other New Zealand and international local governments on various trial programs. The study used a mixed-method analysis technique to analyse the data and discovered that while the Auckland residents have a positive attitude towards source separation, there is moderate influence on subjective norms and significant perceived difficulties around the “yucky factors”, with unpleasant odour being the top deterrent that hinders participation. From the comparative analysis of all the primary and secondary case studies, the study suggests that an accurate grasp of residents’ source separation behaviour is the key to future improvements as it enables more accurate data-driven decision-making in aspects like better planning and management, targeted communication and intervention, as well as the potential establishment of incentive schemes. Limitations of the study include potential biases in self-reported data and the variability in the quality and scope of secondary data.
Author: Li, Gongqi
Language: English
Subfield: Waste Management and Disposal
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7056928149