Towards circular economy practices in food waste management: a retrospective overview and a research agenda

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to offer a research overview of circular food waste management, covering key themes and trends. It analyses state-of-the-art research in this field and proposes an agenda to guide future research.Design/methodology/approachThis study outlines bibliometric analysis from a sample of 349 articles with VOSviewer and SciMat software to identify research trend topics.FindingsThe findings reveal a substantial amount of interest in this field. The main research topics relate to the recovery processes and valorisation of food waste and its conversion into renewable and cleaner materials or energy sources, towards circularity. However, these processes require consideration of social aspects that facilitate their implementation, which are currently under-researched.Practical implicationsCompanies can target their circular food waste management by considering three key aspects. Firstly, the establishment of closer and more sustainable relationships with various stakeholders; Secondly, a regulatory framework and the support of institutions are both required for the correct implementation of circularity. Finally, what is not measured does not exist. It is therefore necessary to establish indicators to measure both the level of development of circularity in waste management and the fulfilment of the established objective.Originality/valueThis bibliometric analysis looks at the application of circularity principles in food waste management from a holistic perspective, considering different areas of knowledge.

Hospitality SMEs and the circular economy: strategies and practice post-COVID

“…Academic research on the circular economy from a business perspective considers the emergence of circular economy business models (Ferasso et al ., 2020); supply chain management (Del Giudice et al. , 2021) and food systems management (Alonso-Muñoz et al ., 2022; De Bernardi et al ., 2022). Considering circular economy systems relating to food, food waste offers little scope for reuse or recovery, however there is a stronger focus on reducing food waste, as food waste is biodegradable waste and reducing food waste can have environmental, economic and social impacts.…”

“…Considering circular economy systems relating to food, food waste offers little scope for reuse or recovery, however there is a stronger focus on reducing food waste, as food waste is biodegradable waste and reducing food waste can have environmental, economic and social impacts. These benefits can be seen in reducing climate change impacts, reducing costs and lowering food prices and alleviating hunger (Alonso-Muñoz et al ., 2022).…”

Intrinsic motivation strongly affects the readiness toward circular food consumption: evidence from the motivation–opportunity–ability model

“…, 2022; Varese et al. , 2022) or recycle food by-products (Alonso-Muñoz et al., 2022; Cattaneo et al. , 2019; Coderoni and Perito, 2021), also defining the Consumer Effort Index (CEI) by looking at CE categories (Paparella et al ., 2023).…”

“…As shown by Table 1, although the representation of R-imperatives for CE ranges from 3 R to 10 R (Sohal and De Vass, 2022;Reike et al, 2018), the empirical literature interprets CE implementation by using the reduce, reuse and recycle concepts separately and applying them to a such specific activity. Previous literature has spent emphasis on analyzing factors affecting consumers behavior to reduce food waste (Dudziak et al, 2022;Varese et al, 2022) or recycle food by-products (Alonso-Muñoz et al, 2022;Cattaneo et al, 2019;Coderoni and Perito, 2021), also defining the Consumer Effort Index (CEI) by looking at CE categories (Paparella et al, 2023). Other studies focused on analyzing consumers' willingness to reduce the intake of…”

Discovering the conceptual building blocks of blockchain technology applications in the agri-food supply chain: a review and research agenda

“…Blockchain technology increases data transparency and streamlines food supply chain management, resulting in reduced food loss during production and waste during distribution and consumption (Pakseresht et al. , 2022; Alonso-Muñoz et al. , 2022).…”