Exploring Supermarket Food Waste: Management Practices, Stakeholder Perspectives, and Policy Relevance toward Sustainability

This study employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches to examine Supermarket Food Waste (SFW) and Packaging (SPK) generations, as well as current management practices implemented by supermarkets and public agencies, using Bangkok, Thailand as a case study. Two supermarket chains provided SFW data and participated in interviews, along with three agencies from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and four private waste processors were interviewed to explore the current SFW management practices. Carbon Footprint (CF) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analyses were also conducted to support the development of policy recommendations for sustainable SFW management. Results indicated that fruits and vegetables and plastics constituted the largest portion of SFW and SPK, accounting for 92.09% and 80.20% respectively, with a packaging-to-food weight ratio of 0.09 kg SPK/kg SFW. Thematic analysis revealed that strong public-private partnerships between supermarket parent companies and public agencies significantly influenced operational efforts, leading to successful SFW management. Based on these findings, policy recommendations were developed across three dimensions: environmental, economic, and policy; tailored to supermarkets and public agencies to support sustainable SFW management.