Environmental awareness, household income and family size as predictors of household food-wasting behaviour among urban households in Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract Household food waste remains a major barrier to sustainable food systems and achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, yet evidence from sub-Saharan Africa is limited. This study examined the influence of environmental awareness, household income and family size on household food-wasting behaviour among urban households in Enugu State, Nigeria. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 239 households selected using the Krejcie and Morgan procedure. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlation analysis and partial least squares structural equation modelling. Results showed that environmental awareness significantly reduced household food-wasting behaviour, whereas household income and family size significantly increased it. Household income emerged as the strongest predictor, while the structural model explained a meaningful proportion of the variance in household food-wasting behaviour and demonstrated acceptable predictive relevance. The findings highlight that behavioural and structural determinants operate simultaneously in shaping household food waste in rapidly urbanising settings. The study contributes theoretically by extending the Theory of Planned Behaviour to explicitly incorporate structural household variables alongside its attitudinal pathway, and provides practical recommendations including targeted environmental education, income-sensitive food management strategies, household-size-responsive interventions, improved food storage, redistribution programmes and stronger policy support for SDG 12.3. The study offers valuable evidence for designing sustainable food systems and behavioural transition initiatives in Nigeria and comparable developing economies.