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1. Introduction
Food waste is a topic of interest to many researchers, practitioners and governments. Around one-third of food produced globally, equivalent to 1.3bn tonnes of food and USD 936bn, is wasted every year (Food and Agricultural Organisation, 2020). At the same time, recent statistics from the Food and Agricultural Organisation suggest that more than 820m people are left without food worldwide. The current world population of 7.2bn is projected to increase by bn over the next 12 years, which is likely to further aggravate the problem of malnutrition and famine. Food that goes wasted could be used effectively to fight hunger and malnutrition (Hasegawa et al., 2019). In addition to its socio-economic implications, food waste also constitutes a significant environmental threat (Barles et al., 2020). The consequences of food waste for the quality of life and well-being of individuals are also well-documented in the literature (Corvo, 2019).
Food waste at the household level comprises a major component of all food waste and results from changing lifestyle, rapid industrialization, increased in the availability of convenience food and a consumerism culture. The socio-economic and demographic background of households, their eating and cooking habits and the type of foods have evolved considerably, with implications for people's emotional connection with food. For many individuals, food has no emotional value and are therefore wasted without hesitation. For others, food is no longer a way to socialize with other people, and the value of preparing meals together or eating as a family has disappeared (Pudel and Westenhofer, 1988). In other instances, some people do not necessarily pay particular attention to food ingredients and do not have enough information about the food origin which may be unacceptable to them and their culture, resulting in food being wasted. With globalization, the value and authenticity of local food has diminished, with implications for food waste (Pudel and Westenhofer, 1988). In comparison to industrial, municipal and institutional wastes, household food wastes consume a lot of space in landfill sites. Therefore, in several countries, household food waste is the main source of wastes that has to be dealt with. Separating food waste from other types of wastes at source using composting systems may reduce their environmental impacts. The composting would recapture nutrients along...