Measures in the wake of the corona pandemic slowed the spread of the corona virus in many places. However, they also led to increased waste production, as an international study has now shown. According to the lockdowns, there is above all more packaging waste and leftover food in household waste. This has to do with buying hamsters, more frequent self-cooking and increased orders.
In order to slow the spread of the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus and to avoid overloading the health systems during the pandemic, shutdowns were initiated worldwide. As a result, the waves of infection could be at least partially reduced. However, with negative side effects: For example, many people lost their jobs, psychological stress increased and education was hampered. Closing shops and spending more time in their own four walls also meant that people had more things delivered.
Significant changes in consumer behavior
Scientists working with Walter Leal from the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences have now investigated whether the shutdowns also led to more garbage. “The international study analyzes consumer consumption and the amount of waste generated since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic,” explains Leal. To this end, the researchers conducted a survey on the generation of different types of household waste before and during the pandemic and the consumption behavior of people. They interviewed around 200 test persons from a total of 23 countries, such as Portugal, Brazil, Canada, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Vietnam.
The result: The lockdowns that existed in almost all regions actually led to a change in consumer behavior, which was also reflected in waste. More than 45 percent of all respondents said they had bought more packaged food and had food and ready-made meals delivered more often. The research team attributes this result to the fact that since the beginning of the pandemic, more people have been at home and behave differently there than usual. “The pandemic is causing significant changes in consumer behavior,” said Leal.
First hamster purchases, then quarantine and frustration eating
The first change in the way people buy and eat food could have happened at the beginning of the pandemic, according to the scientists. At the time, long-life food was bought and stored in large quantities in many places. “At the beginning of the pandemic, understanding of the virus and its consequences was limited and people began to stock up on food to help mitigate the risk of future food shortages,” explain Leal and colleagues. Among other things, over 80 percent of respondents from Norway and around 40 percent of respondents from Vietnam reported in the study that they had bought additional dry goods. In Italy, by mid-March 2020, sales of packaged food rose by over 30 percent compared to the previous year. Long-life frozen products were also increasingly bought – in the USA even over 90 percent more than in the previous year. In March 2020, 80 percent more bread was bought in Italy and twice as many dried potato products than usual in Germany.
“During the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in autumn and winter 2020, however, panic buying was not an issue for most people,” say Leal and his team. During this phase, many people had to be quarantined or were restricted in their movement by curfews. As a result, more people cooked at home and had their groceries delivered more often. Almost a third of respondents in the UK and around 60 percent in Vietnam said that they would rather have food delivered than go to shops. In addition, people increasingly ordered meals from restaurants. In the USA, Italy and Japan, the proportion of orders in October 2020 therefore increased by up to around 30 percent.
“The increase in online grocery shopping and delivery to restaurants means an increase in packaging,” said the research team. Because this means that the food can be transported as hygienically as possible. In addition, the pandemic also triggered psychological stress such as depression, stress and fear of Covid-19, which can lead to overeating. For example, more than a third of respondents in the UK said they bought more alcohol and snacks because of their lack of social contact. In Italy, more than 30 percent of study participants reported having an increased appetite and almost half felt they had gained weight.
Findings for the future
“It can be concluded from this that Covid-19 has a significant influence on consumer behavior around the world,” conclude Leal and his colleagues. As a result, the amount of waste in settlements has also changed. “This puts additional pressure on the waste management systems and is an indirect effect of the Covid-19 pandemic,” explains Leal. The results now provide city administrations and municipal utilities with useful information on consumption patterns in emergency situations, the researchers explain. “This means that systemic and strategic measures can be taken more quickly to better assess and contain the effects of future pandemics,” says Leal. He and his team also hope that their results will also raise people’s awareness of reducing waste.
Source: Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Article: Science of The Total Environment, doi: 10.1016 / j.scitotenv.2021.145997