Waste not Want not: A Co-Created Food Waste Pilot

Abstract

Food waste costs the city, and hence rate payers, money and impacts the wider environment through food production, transport, waste collection and landfills generating methane which contributes to a climate change. Australian Councils are charged a kilogramme per household fee for waste collection, and food waste is the heaviest component in a general waste bin. Most household food waste is avoidable and one way to bring about change and reduce waste is to start with food wasted in the home. In response to this, Social Marketing @ Griffith piloted a food waste campaign in partnership with Redland City Council. Waste Not Want Not was cocreated with community and evaluated using a controlled design following delivery of the two-week pilot program. The campaign consisted of two core components: Household packs and a two-week interactive shopping centre display that featured interactions with volunteer staff, daily cooking demonstrations and a chef cook-off event. The campaign successfully decreased self-reported food waste and improved self-efficacy in the program group while no significant differences were observed in the control group. This chapter outlines the potential of social marketing to change food waste behaviour, outlining an engaging co-created program.