Public policy for household food waste management in municipal areas

Abstract

The objectives of this study are : 1) to analyze the situations of household food waste (HFW) and assess the environmental impact on municipal food waste (MFW) management in municipal areas, 2) to synthesize a public policy for HFW management in municipal areas that is appropriate for Thailand's context and 3) to recommend guidelines for driving the implementation of the public policy.

The synthesis of public policy for household food waste (HFW) management in municipal areas was conducted to establish the overall framework and direction for the systematic management of municipal food waste (MFW) in the country. The synthesis process employed a mixed methods approach, which included the following research methods: 1) documentary research 2) survey research and 3) future research with the Delphi Technique that is technique involved engaging experts in the field to provide their opinions and insights on the issues, enabling the formulation of the policy. The researcher analyzed the gathered information and worked with experts to formulate the policy, which included defining the vision, targets, strategies, measures, and guidelines for driving policy implementation. To ensure the efficiency and appropriateness of the public policy for HFW management in municipal areas in Thailand's context, six tools were utilized: SWOT analysis, 4M's, PESTEL, TOWS matrix, Balanced Scorecards (BSC), and Objective Key Results (OKR). The formulated policy underwent a participatory process, including focus group discussions, to obtain recommendations and comments from relevant sectors. This was done to ensure that the public policy for HFW management in municipal areas was efficient and appropriate for Thailand.

The research has found that the attitudes of households are significantly related to their HFW generation and management behavior, with a statistical confidence level of 95%. In 2021, Thailand had an average of 26,657 tons of food waste per day within municipal areas, accounting for 38.95% of the total municipal solid waste quantity. The food waste generation rate per capita was 0.4 kg. /person/day. Larger municipalities and tourist destinations had higher quantities of food waste and food waste generation rates per capita compared to smaller municipalities, with statistical significance at the 0.05 level. In municipal areas, households accounted for an average of 55.71% of the food waste, while other sources (retail and food service) accounted for 44.29% of the total quantity. The food waste was primarily mixed food waste, consisting of vegetable and fruit scraps, as well as inedible parts of plants, which have a high potential for greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Landfilling food waste has the highest potential for GHGs, followed by incineration, composting, and anaerobic digestion, respectively.

Furthermore, a future research study conducted using the Delphi Technique with 17 experts found a consensus that household-level food waste in municipal areas should be addressed through public policies and the implementation. The proposed public policy has a vision "Moving toward to low-carbon society thru zero food waste landfill in 2037". All relevant sectors must implement food waste management strategies based on the 4 Excellence Strategies: Strategy 1 - Reduce the quantity of food waste at the source, Strategy 2 - Improve management efficiency to reduce GHGs, Strategy 3 - Foster a participatory consumption society, and Strategy 4 - Develop an integrated environmental system to enhance management capacity. Participants in the focus group discussions agreed with the framework for food waste management and proposed two main mechanisms to drive policy implementation: a mechanism for driving and transforming plans into action and a mechanism for establishing effective monitoring, inspection, and evaluation systems.