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HOUSEHOLDS’ FOOD WASTE PREVENTION BEHAVIOUR IN A CIRCULAR ECONOMY: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK INTEGRATING BEHAVIOURAL ECONOMICS’ TOOLS AND MAQASID AL-SHARIAH PERSPECTIVES�

THE 15TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ISLAMIC ECONOMICS & FINANCE (ICIEF)

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Authors

Puteri Farhana Anis

Rafia Afroz

Gairuzazmi Mat Ghani,

Noorihsan Bin Mohamad

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Department of Economics,

Kulliyyah of Economics and Management Sciences,

International Islamic University Malaysia.

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Presentation outline

  • Research background
  • Objective of the Study
  • Household waste Management Behavior
  • Nudge theory and digital nudging
  • Role of Maqasid Al Shariah
  • Conceptual Framework
  • Conclusion

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What is Food Waste?

food waste as the exclusion of food and its accompanying inedible components from the human food supply chain within the retail, food service, and residential sectors ((UNEP, 2021).

Background of the Study

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Background of the Study

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Background of the Study

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Background of the Study

Current Waste Management in Malaysia

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Background of the study

What is the Problem with Current Waste Management ?

A significant proportion exceeding 80% of garbage generated in Malaysia is now disposed of at landfills and open dumping sites, distributed among a total of 297 locations.

It is worth noting that hardly 10 of these sites adhere to hygienic standards, hence ensuring limited environmental risks control (MHLG, 2015).

Furthermore, it is worth noting that the recycling rate in Malaysia is very low, ranging from 5% to 10%, despite the fact that a substantial portion of the MSW, around 70% to 80%, is deemed recyclable according to Johari et al. (2014).

The degradation of organic waste in landfills in Malaysia leads to the release of greenhouse gases, which in turn adds to an annual rise of 3.59% in CO2 emissions per capita (The World Bank, 2019).

Furthermore, should this concerning pattern of food waste driven by consumer behaviour persist, it would pose significant challenges to our nation's ability to achieve the targeted reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 45% in 2030, as outlined in our country's comprehensive strategy to address climate change (Jones et al., 2022).

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Background of the Study

Food Waste Hierarchy

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Background of the Study

Circular Economy of Food Waste

Motivation to prevent food waste

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Objectives of the Study

  • The objective of this study is to propose a conceptual framework by incorporating the theory of planned behavior (TPB) with two additional variables, namely awareness of the households based on Maqasid Al Shariah and perception of the households towards nudges.
  • Based on theory of planned behaviour (TPB), this conceptual framework will consider the relationship between attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control towards intention of the households to minimize food waste, given the ongoing efforts to enhance environmental conditions and the escalating negative consequences of food waste.
  • Awareness among the Muslim community regarding food waste and the implementation of nudges are predicted to mediate the relationship between attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and intention of the households to minimize the food waste.

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Nudge theory and digital nudging

The nudge theory, which falls under the umbrella of behavioural economics, posits that individuals may not consistently behave in a manner that aligns with their own economic self-interest.

Thaler and Sunstein

(2019)

Hamerman and colleagues

(2018)

Giaccherini et al. (2021)

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Vidal-Mones et al. (2022).

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Qi et al. (2022)

Ensaff et al.

(2015).

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Nudge theory and digital nudging

  • UNEP (2020) advocates the use of nudging for two goals, inhibiting unwanted comportment or encouraging desired conduct. This research will suggest a combination of both inhibiting and stimulating nudges to increase willingness to minimise the food waste.
  • It is also recommended by UNEP (2020) that a combination of both types of nudges to be implemented by means of simultaneously removing small barriers to increase inclination towards desirable behaviour as well as creating barriers to perform the undesirable behaviour or the behaviour which opposes the intended behaviour.
  • Prevention of food waste will be the desirable behaviour and occurrence of food waste will be the opposite of the desirable behaviour in the context of this research.

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Source: www.nema.ae

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Source: www.nema.ae

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The Role Of Maqasid Al-shariah For Food Waste Disposal�

These include ((Sarkawi et al., 2015).

faith/belief (al-Din),

life/body (al-Nafs),

intellect/reason (al-Aql),

lineage/prosperity (al-Nasab), and

wealth (al-Maal)

  • The concept of Maqasid al-Shariah holds significant power in shaping ethical principles, driving incentives, and guiding conduct towards the preservation of the environment.

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  • The Shar'iah, or Islamic law, is guided by the Maqasid al-Shariah, which prioritizes a set of fundamental purposes, known as daruriyyat, that are essential for human well-being and progress.

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Conceptual Framework

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Conclusions

The adverse environmental consequences resulting from food waste in houses necessitate a more holistic approach towards enhancing environmental conditions, hence emphasizing the need to examine households' behaviours in minimizing food waste.

Moreover, the incorporation of awareness based on Maqasid Al Shariah and nudges as the variables are believed to possess the capacity to serve as a mediator in mitigating the impact of enhancing or diminishing the predictive capability of subjective norm, attitude and perceived behavioral control on intention to minimize the food waste.

These inputs are anticipated to facilitate the cultivation of pro-environmental attitudes, hence leading to the adoption of food waste avoidance behaviour within households.

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Thank you.�