Assessment of Factors Affecting the Amount of Food Waste in Households Run by Polish Women Aware of Well-Being

Food waste is a pressing problem in Western countries. Increased food waste production directly affects environmental changes and pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions and contamination with packaging. In Poland, 9.2 million tons of food is lost annually, 53% of which is produced by consumers. To minimize food waste by consumers, it is necessary to understand the factors affecting the behaviors associated with food wasting. This work is focused on investigating the causes and behaviors related to food wasting, and determining the kinds of food that are wasted in Polish households run by women that possess a high awareness of well-being. It was found that most of the respondents who took part in the survey admitted that their households did waste food. It was shown that there is a positive correlation between the number of people living in a household and the amount of food wasted. It was also confirmed that age has an impact on the amount of food discarded by Polish women, because respondents over 37 years of age wasted less food and more often declared a lack of wasting compared to others. In households, fresh food with short expiry dates, including vegetables, fruit, bread, and meat, was wasted the most. The most important factors directly influencing the amount of wasted food were: purchasing too much food, a lack of expiry-date control, a lack of planning of purchases and menus, and a lack of ideas for using food residues. The main element affecting waste is purchasing too much food, most often resulting from susceptibility to promotions, willingness to buy in stock, and a lack of prior planning. Understanding the mechanisms of waste allows households to take actions to effectively reduce it, and therefore ensure greater food security in the world.