Food Waste Management Systems in Boarding Schools: An exploratory study in Bhutan

Abstract

Boarding schools consist of students who spend their day and night in the boarding schools which raises the amount of food waste produced which is one of the rising concerns at the moment. With an increasing number of such schools in Bhutan, the risk of food waste becoming a huge risk also increases. Despite the fact that food waste management can have extreme consequences both on the country’s economy and an individual's well being, there haven't been many research articles published online regarding the food waste management systems in Bhutan. This study researches the understanding of the food waste management system in the boarding schools in Bhutan. It also explores the relationship between the knowledge about food waste management and its practical application in these different schools. A mixed approach method was used in this research. It consisted of the collection of surveys from the 179 students from three different schools and few focused group discussions with people concerned with food production were conducted. SPSS was used for the analysis of the surveys. Descriptive analysis was used to find out the demographic frequency and the percentile of the variables. It was found that though the majority of the students knew about food waste issues; their knowledge about the management system of food wastes in their schools was limited. Cross tabulation and the frequency table showed that the schools disposed of the food wastes without any separation even though they knew food waste. The analysis showed a contradictory result where the application of proper waste management system (for instance perfectly-edible food was wasted), was not applied in the schools despite having the knowledge about food waste and the issues related to it. From the FGD, it was found that the disposal of these food wastes is irregular and disorganized. The participants were highly willing to accept new initiatives to reduce food wastes in their respective schools. With these results, few recommendations were noted down. The study recommends a bottom up approach in these schools through the initiation of clubs related to food wastes. It also suggests the proper technical, academic and the political intervention to reduce the food waste generation and proper food waste management. SWOT analysis was used to check the applicability of Takakura composting making methods in these schools, which showed greater positive results than drawbacks.