Reducing Food Waste Using Information Technology: A Case from Switzerland

Abstract

About 2.8 million tons of food waste are generated in Switzerland every year. Negative environmental impacts of food waste are on average higher at the end of the food chain than at the beginning. So far there are no quantitative studies to evaluate the requirements for information technology (IT) to reduce food waste in Swiss households. To investigate this matter a representative survey was conducted in Switzerland. Based on its results, the authors conclude that IT is expected to be most effective in reducing food waste in Swiss households when focusing on the management of the entire food stock. Therefore, further research should dive into the management of the food stock items as well as exploring more radical concepts to reduce the food stock itself.