Shifting the value of food and organic waste management in the food services sector in Brisbane, Australia
Grace O’Connor
Abstract
Food and organic waste has valuable but consistently overlooked applications in improving food production and consumption systems. Despite this value, it is commonly disposed of in landfills in high-income nations, such as Australia, which has detrimental impacts to the climate, land and soil quality, natural resources, economy and human health. This research addresses the critical need to document food and organic waste management practices, specifically in the food services sector of the hospitality industry. Using Brisbane, Australia as a case study, this is investigated via a mixed methods approach involving a stakeholder analysis and pilot stated-preference (willingness-to-pay) survey. Findings indicate that efforts to responsibly manage food and organic waste in this sector are limited in Brisbane and instead represent a microcosm of the broader waste management landscape. Importantly, a lack of political leadership, lack of resources, infrastructure and services, and the cost to adopt more responsible practices contribute to the current state of waste management. Despite this, pilot survey participants expressed a high willingness-to-pay ($75.88 per month) for more responsible management practices. The most valuable contributions of this research are the demonstration of a highly innovative approach to food and organic waste management in the food services sector and understanding that participants consider governments to have the largest role in placing an economic value on food and organic waste and associated services, incentivizing and improving the adoption of more responsible management practices, with the advocation of a landfill levy a critical finding.