Analysing disparities between household food waste metrics and their socioeconomic drivers in Chamwino District, Tanzania

Abstract

Food waste measurement has garnered significant attention in recent years due to its critical role in devising interventions to mitigate the environmental, social, and economic impacts of food waste. However, the absence of a standardized protocol for Food Waste (FdW) quantification remains a key obstacle in formulating and evaluating effective minimization strategies. This study utilizes Bland-Altman plots and regression analysis to evaluate the agreement between Self-Reported Food Waste (SR_FW) and Direct Weighing Food Waste (DW_FW) in a sample of 402 randomly selected households in Chamwino District, Tanzania. It also investigates the socioeconomic factors influencing disparities between these measurement methods, providing valuable insights into the drivers of these discrepancies. The findings reveal a bias of 0.100067 Kilogram (kg), indicating that SR_FW measurements significantly underestimate household FdW. On average, respondents report edible FdW of 0.032703 kg through SR_FW, while DW_FW measures 0.132769 kg. Furthermore, gender, age, marital status, house ownership, awareness, and price and cost sensitivity are identified as significant factors influencing the bias between the two methods. The study concludes by advocating for increased awareness creation, the combined use of SR_FW and DW_FW methods, and measures to foster household accountability. These recommendations aim to enhance the accuracy of FdW quantification and support the development of effective waste reduction strategies.