The future of food waste: Application of circular economy

Despite its significant adverse impacts on the environment, society, and economy, food waste is unavoidable around the world. The increase in population and income will worsen the situation and put more pressure on food security. This paper explores the problem and the factors that are influencing food waste in Malaysia. It also discusses a proposed alternative treatment of food waste and an analysis of its marketability. Accordingly, an experimental analysis and a questionnaire survey are used to achieve the stated objectives. The result shows that on average, the amount of food waste per capita/week is about 1.6 kg, with rice as the most commonly wasted food. Poor food management practices and gender are significant factors that affect food waste, and these are supported by the consumer behaviours theory. The proposed treated rice waste (termed as upcycled products) using a circular economy model was produced and well accepted by the public; the people's willingness to pay a certain amount of money to process their food waste indicates a high chance of food waste marketability.