Fifteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

Government strategizes to maintain environmental sustainability in food waste management; however, the rate of recycling and composting food waste remain low in households. In Taiwan, household food waste has a channel for decomposition from kitchen to land as organic fertilizers. However, the percentage of recycling stays around eight to eleven percent. Household food waste consists of oil, carbohydrates, protein, peels, fibers, shells, and bones. Proper recycling provides a systematic decomposition of the food waste to be reused and certain amount of carbon footprint can be offset. This study collects data of household food waste recycling from government publications to examine national-wide recycling rate. In-depth interviews and survey are administered to reveal rationales behind the low recycling rate of household food waste in metropolitan areas. The contribution of this study is to provide strategic suggestions for the administration to effectively disseminate information to promote household food waste reduction and recycling.