Assemblages, utterances and performativity: consumers’ experience of sustainable disposal of food waste

Purpose Household food waste is a major issue in the UK. Numerous city councils in the UK are piloting household food waste recycling schemes to help mitigate the environmental impact of food waste. By using a performativity lens, the purpose of this paper is to explore how residents in a food waste pilot scheme (dis)engaged with the messages and bins provided by a council. This revealed how consumers (un)performed the act of food waste sorting, recycling, disposal and engagement with the food waste scheme and built an appreciation of the importance of the consumers’ place on their food waste journey. Design/methodology/approach This paper drew on the lived experience of 49 residents that participated in a food waste trial in a Northern Council in the UK. This paper undertook in-depth interviewing of household participants with food waste responsibilities, spending time with participants in situ, observing and photographing food waste bins and undertook informal conversations with participants. This paper focused on consumer attitudes and motivations towards food behaviours, food waste and recycling and engagement, or the lack of, with food waste recycling. Findings This study illustrates the performativity of food waste recycling at home goes beyond simply “acting” on a recycling message. The findings of this study suggest for food waste messages to be performative, a range of assemblages come together. Second, this paper explores agency, or lack of, and concludes that for performativity to be successful, it requires continuous support, action and repetition. This paper unpacks hindrances to performativity, including neoliberal governance, market conditions and lack of agency in relation to food waste. Finally, this paper reveals how the meaning of food waste has been changed by participation in a food recycling scheme changing the social reality of food waste. Research limitations/implications Future research could take a multi-stakeholder approach to explore the performativity of household food waste and examine how consumers break previous, entrenched habits, forming new practices in relation to food waste. Practical implications This study offers implications for policymakers by offering understanding on what performativity of food waste recycling scheme means for consumers. This paper suggests offering simple guidance for people, continuous support and communication focusing on the outcome of the scheme which help enhance engagement and greater consideration for socio-economically challenged consumers. Originality/value The novelty to this paper lies in the context and approach. This paper studies the underexplored context of the recycling stage of food waste and post-purchase consumer activity. A performativity lens moves beyond the static conceptualisation of recycling as a given sustainability act and draws our attention to the ways it is produced and reproduced.