Koh Kiang Ee Kenji, Lim En-Lye Perrie, Loh Wei Kiat, Tan Wei Hao Jonathan, Tay Sheryl
Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari
Globally, one-third of food produced for human consumption is wasted (Gustafsson, Cederberg, Sonesson and Emanuelsson, 2013). In Singapore, food waste is also a rising concern with an alarming 40% increase over the past decade (NEA, 2018). Strategies employed for the producer side of food waste have yielded positive results in tackling this issue (Oliver Wyman, 2014). In contrast, efforts expended on the consumer side to reduce their plate waste were mostly rudimentary and devoid of systematic evaluation (Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition, 2012). The purpose of our study was to augment the current strategies of plate waste reduction with choice architecture principles in the Ridge View Residential College (RVRC) dining hall.
Our preliminary field research and survey of Yale-NUS current plate waste monitoring system showed that individuals are more compelled to reduce their waste when comparative figures are presented. Therefore, we implemented a waste monitoring system in RVRC for three weeks that utilised norm-based messaging and community approach to nudge individuals to reduce plate waste. The system displayed an individual’s plate waste amount against two other comparative figures: a constantly updated average plate waste amount and the target plate waste amount for the community. Collected data showed that our system effectively
raised the consciousness of plate waste in the RVRC community because of significantly reduced overall plate waste. Based on the results obtained in our study, we recommend incorporating a comparative plate waste display across NUS campus dining halls to reduce food waste by students.
Keywords: Waste, Food, Responsible Consumption