A framework to allow intervention design to increase food waste recycling in an urban community in Shanghai

Abstract

China has recently surpassed the USA to become the world’s largest producer of municipal solid waste (MSW). Typically more than 60% of MSW in China is food waste, the majority of which is disposed of in landfill or incinerated at great financial and environmental costs. With annual costs exceeding 12.6 billion RMB (approximately £1.26 billion) for waste treatment, alternatives are fast becoming a necessity. In 2010 the Shanghai Municipal Government introduced the Waste Minimisation Plan. The Plan outlined a 5% MSW reduction target per capita to meet the longer-term goal of 50% reduction per capita by 2020 relative to 2010. In 2011 the Shanghai municipality introduced source separation pilot programmes, focused on food waste recycling, in a bid to address the Waste Minimisation Plan. This study aims to establish a new waste management framework, which can be used to design, develop, plan, execute and assess interventions to reduce waste landfilled and incinerated by increasing food waste recycling in Shanghai.

Date of Award	2014
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Brighton