Closing the Loop on Food Waste: Stakeholder Views and Experiences from Southeast Queensland, Australia
Every year in Australia, the household, commercial and industry sectors generate more than five million tonnes of food waste, with the majority of it ending up in landfills that are costly to run and diminishing in availability. There are urgent calls for effective waste management practices to bett...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Waste |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2813-0391/1/3/38 |
| _version_ | 1797576437466660864 |
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| author | Nikita Zatyko Savindi Caldera Cheryl Desha |
| author_facet | Nikita Zatyko Savindi Caldera Cheryl Desha |
| author_sort | Nikita Zatyko |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Every year in Australia, the household, commercial and industry sectors generate more than five million tonnes of food waste, with the majority of it ending up in landfills that are costly to run and diminishing in availability. There are urgent calls for effective waste management practices to better address the challenges related to increasing volumes of food waste. This study evaluates potential food waste collection and composting initiatives that will ensure the implementation of the appropriate policies and technologies, and best practice of utilizing food waste as a natural resource. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with practitioners from the Southeast Queensland waste industry to gain insights on the challenges and opportunities for implementing a Food Organics, Garden Organics (FOGO) system. The interviews revealed five key themes: levies and taxes, capital investment challenges, lack of capacity, contract inefficiencies, and separate waste streams. Organisations and companies in the waste industry heavily rely on funding in order to technologically advance. There is a divergence of attention between technology and policy. Advancement of technology grows faster than the policies that regulate the appropriate use and level of effectiveness of the introduced technology. Both policy and technological changes need to occur simultaneously for Queensland to evolve and develop a social-economic system that favours a non-wasteful and sustainable future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:51:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cb3f6c413ee14a26acc42c0cc437e3e5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2813-0391 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:51:55Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Waste |
| spelling | doaj.art-cb3f6c413ee14a26acc42c0cc437e3e52023-11-19T13:24:36ZengMDPI AGWaste2813-03912023-07-011364065310.3390/waste1030038Closing the Loop on Food Waste: Stakeholder Views and Experiences from Southeast Queensland, AustraliaNikita Zatyko0Savindi Caldera1Cheryl Desha2Cities Research Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, QL 4111, AustraliaCities Research Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, QL 4111, AustraliaCities Research Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, QL 4111, AustraliaEvery year in Australia, the household, commercial and industry sectors generate more than five million tonnes of food waste, with the majority of it ending up in landfills that are costly to run and diminishing in availability. There are urgent calls for effective waste management practices to better address the challenges related to increasing volumes of food waste. This study evaluates potential food waste collection and composting initiatives that will ensure the implementation of the appropriate policies and technologies, and best practice of utilizing food waste as a natural resource. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with practitioners from the Southeast Queensland waste industry to gain insights on the challenges and opportunities for implementing a Food Organics, Garden Organics (FOGO) system. The interviews revealed five key themes: levies and taxes, capital investment challenges, lack of capacity, contract inefficiencies, and separate waste streams. Organisations and companies in the waste industry heavily rely on funding in order to technologically advance. There is a divergence of attention between technology and policy. Advancement of technology grows faster than the policies that regulate the appropriate use and level of effectiveness of the introduced technology. Both policy and technological changes need to occur simultaneously for Queensland to evolve and develop a social-economic system that favours a non-wasteful and sustainable future.https://www.mdpi.com/2813-0391/1/3/38food wastefood organics garden organics (FOGO)closing the loopcircular sustainable economy |
| spellingShingle | Nikita Zatyko Savindi Caldera Cheryl Desha Closing the Loop on Food Waste: Stakeholder Views and Experiences from Southeast Queensland, Australia Waste food waste food organics garden organics (FOGO) closing the loop circular sustainable economy |
| title | Closing the Loop on Food Waste: Stakeholder Views and Experiences from Southeast Queensland, Australia |
| title_full | Closing the Loop on Food Waste: Stakeholder Views and Experiences from Southeast Queensland, Australia |
| title_fullStr | Closing the Loop on Food Waste: Stakeholder Views and Experiences from Southeast Queensland, Australia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Closing the Loop on Food Waste: Stakeholder Views and Experiences from Southeast Queensland, Australia |
| title_short | Closing the Loop on Food Waste: Stakeholder Views and Experiences from Southeast Queensland, Australia |
| title_sort | closing the loop on food waste stakeholder views and experiences from southeast queensland australia |
| topic | food waste food organics garden organics (FOGO) closing the loop circular sustainable economy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2813-0391/1/3/38 |
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