Research & reports

Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.

4 results

• Composting behavior in Japan: an application of the theory of consumption values

  2025

  Ana Catarina Morais, Akira Ishida · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Japan

  This research investigated factors encouraging Japanese households to engage in composting, applying the theory of consumption values (TCV) and evaluating hypotheses using ordinal partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings indicate that household composting in Japan is influenced by social approval, behavior visibility, composting knowledge, convenience, interest in gardening/farming, and individual availability. Factors like emotions, gender, housing type, and household size did not significantly impact composting practice.

  CompostOrganic cycleFood lossDIY
  Read source →DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2024.1435898

• Curbing household food waste and associated climate change impacts in an ageing society

  2024

  Shigetomi Y., Ishigami A., Long Y., Chapman A. · Nature Communications, 15:8987 · Japan

  Demonstrates that per-capita household food waste in Japan rises with the age of the household head, reaching roughly three times higher for those 70+ than for those under 30, with correspondingly large differences in food-waste-related greenhouse gas emissions. It highlights the need for age-targeted food-loss reduction strategies in an ageing society.

  Food lossOrganic cyclePolicyEconomics
  Read source →DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51553-w

• What Reduces Household Food Waste in Japan? Nation-Wide and Region-Specific Contributing Factors in Urban and Rural Areas

  2022

  Nakamura K., Kojima D., Ando M. · Sustainability (MDPI), 14(6):3174 · Japan

  Analyzes nationwide survey data to identify consumer attributes (gender, age, children in the household, safety awareness) and behaviors (checking labels, food management) associated with household food-waste generation and reduction in Japan. It shows that contributing factors differ between large cities, small cities, and rural areas, underscoring the need for region-specific measures.

  Food lossPolicy
  Read source →DOI: 10.3390/su14063174

• Food Waste Recovery with Takakura Portable Compost Boxes in Offices and Working Places

  2018

  Jiménez-Antillón, J., Calleja-Amador, C., Romero-Esquivel, L. G. · Resources (MDPI), 7(4):84 · Global (Costa Rica; Japan-origin method)

  A field study placing the Kitakyushu-origin 'Takakura' composting method—widely diffused in Surabaya, Indonesia—as small portable boxes in university offices and workplaces in Costa Rica. Processing food waste from 45 staff over six months, it shows that low-cost, citizen/workplace-scale fermentation composting is viable.

  CompostFood lossOrganic cycleCommunity
  Read source →DOI: 10.3390/resources7040084