Eat up! Prevention of plate waste in tourism and hospitality: a perspective paper

Abstract

Purpose

Plate waste is uneaten food left behind on the plate after a meal. Plate waste – like all food waste – burdens the environment. Plate waste – in contrast to other types of food waste – is absolutely unnecessary and almost entirely preventable. This study aims to synthesize past research on plate waste and outline a future research agenda.

Design/methodology/approach

Past research into plate waste is discussed, and the need for specific directions of future research is pointed out. A systematics of measures for the prevention of plate waste is offered which uses the following as criteria: the suitability of measures to the hospitality context; and whether the measure has been scientifically proven to be effective.

Findings

Plate waste research has a very short history. To date, efforts have been focusing on quantifying the extent of the problem. More theoretical work is needed to identify drivers of place waste and develop and experimentally test theory-based practical interventions to reduce the amount of plate waste generated.

Originality/value

The key contribution of this perspective paper is to synthesize prior work on plate waste and offer a future research agenda.

Citation

Dolnicar, S. (2021), "Eat up! Prevention of plate waste in tourism and hospitality: a perspective paper", Tourism Review, Vol. 76 No. 1, pp. 43-46. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-05-2019-0199