Arizona Waste Characterization Study

Discrepancies with Self-Reporting

The study also tested people's self-reported behaviors, finding that alcohol consumption was significantly higher than residents reported on questionnaires. Recycling was lower than self-reported. The repeated studies of Rathje's team have discovered some interesting trends in questionnaire accuracy; for instance, a nondrinking member of a household [Page 46]is more likely to report the alcohol consumption of that household than a drinking member is, even though the drinking members would be presumed to have the most direct knowledge of it. Further, on average, female adults will overreport a household's usage of food and other goods by 10–30 percent, which Rathje calls “the good provider syndrome,” reflecting an unconscious tendency on the part of mothers and housewives to assure the questioner that the household is well taken care of.

Disposal Habits

The studies have also highlighted dietary habits, such as the decline in purchases of raw red meat in the late 1980s and the tendency of eaters to trim away greater portions of fat (a decision informed by media campaigns warning of the dangers of heart disease). However, these same eaters ate greater amounts of processed red meat with less visible fat content, such as hot dogs, sausage, and salami, so that their fat intake actually stayed the same or rose. Similarly, during periods of specific food shortages, such as a beef shortage or sugar shortage, discarded amounts of the scarce food actually increase, presumably because of hoarding behavior.

The general trend with food waste seems to be that foods associated with food behavior that change little over time are the foods wasted the least: sliced bread, typically consumed frequently throughout the week, is wasted at a rate of less than 10 percent of purchased volume, which is below the average food waste level. Specialty breads, like hot dog rolls, muffins, and pita bread, are wasted at a rate of more than 35 percent. A similar principle is true of household hazardous waste: more of it is discarded when it is associated with one-off or infrequent tasks, such as reroofing or seasonal pool cleaning, than when it is part of regular periodic household maintenance.

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