Smaller plates, less food waste: A choice architectural experiment in a self-service eating setting

With roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption lost or wasted globally (about 1.3 billion tons per year), the impact on the environment cannot be anymore neglected. Actions at all points in the production chain are now urgent, including reductions in food waste at home, by retailers and producers. Northern European consumers are among the most environmentally concerned consumers, however, their concerns do not always translate in more sustainable food-related behaviours. Furthermore, food choices are not always rational and could be non-reflective. Hence, the objective of this pilot study was to investigate whether the size of the dishware would non-reflectively influence the amount of foods taken from an “ad-libitum” buffet and the resulting amount of waste. Sample consisted of Danish business leaders that took part in a congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Two buffet tables were set up on two separate floors; one with normal sized plates (usual sizes provided by the caterer, 27cm) that served as controls (N=75), and a table with smaller sized plates (24cm) that served as the intervention (N=145). Participants were allocated to each of the two floors, and informed that this was for logistic reasons. All food waste was collected in designated trash bags (different colour in each floor) and weighted in bulk by students. Smaller plates appear to have decreased food waste by 26% compared to the standard sized plates at a single serving in a self-service eating setting. This pilot study supports the hypothesis that dishware size plays an important role in the amount of food wasted among Danish adults in a self-service eating setting. This finding has PHN implications: slight changes in the foodscape can contribute to sustainable food consumption goals.