An assessment of the household food wastage in a developing country: a case study of five areas in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng Province, South Africa

Abstract

Food waste has been proclaimed to be the key issue of concern that has drawn the attention of national and international scientific communities. This is due to changes in food systems and global situations. The issue of food waste is important because a large amount of food is being wasted during the production and distribution of food. One-third of food produced globally is wasted or lost from farm to fork. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate and quantify the factors that contribute to generation of household food waste. The evaluation was done using face-to-face interviews based on a structured questionnaire and the actual weighing of households’ food wasted was quantified using a weighing kitchen scale. A total of 210 participants were interviewed. Food waste samples were collected from five selected study areas of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (CTMM): Atteridgeville Ext 6, 16 and 17, Lyttelton, Montana Park, Olievenhoutbosch Ext 36 and Silver Lakes Golf Estate, in Gauteng province, South Africa. The acquired data was captured into Microsoft Excel, and analysed. The chi-square statistical test was done using SAS statistical software. Out of 210 interviewed participants, 55% of the households had a monthly income of R10 000+ and 45% had a monthly income of less than R10 000. A total of 59% of respondents agreed that they wasted food, while 41% thought they did not waste food at all. The results also show that 35% of households included in the survey in selected areas of the CTMM threw away pap (referred as maize porridge), 26% wasted rice, 25% bread and 14% fruit and vegetables. Households wasted an average total of 6 kg per week per household. This was attributed to over preparation of porridge and rice; buying too much food; falling for special offers; poor storage; food residue, and fruit and vegetables going off. Households with a monthly income of R500 - R5 000 wasted more food than households with an income of more than R5 000. As such, it can be concluded that income has an impact on the amount of food wasted within the selected areas of CTMM. Moreover, analysis of the data confirmed that there is a statistically significant relationship between income level and food waste. The statistical chi-square test was applied and a probability value (p-value) of < 0.0001 was obtained, indicating that the difference between income categories was more than just a random pattern. (Note that any p-value of < 0.05 is considered to be statistically significant, i.e. an indication of an underlying consistent, non-random pattern.)