| Abstract [eng] |
Food waste is one of the largest components of household waste, which has a significant impact on the environment and public welfare. Unconsumed or spoiled food ending up in landfills emits greenhouse gases and negatively contributes to climate change. It is important to reduce the negative environmental impact and encourage people to properly sort food waste, thereby decreasing the overall amount of waste and enabling its conversion into useful products. Aim of the study - to evaluate the food waste sorting habits of students at the Faculty of Medicine of Vilnius University and their opinions on food waste sorting. Objectives of the study: 1) To assess students’ knowledge of food waste sorting. 2) To examine students’ opinions on food waste sorting. 3) To determine students’ food waste sorting habits. 4) To analyze factors influencing students’ decisions to sort or not to sort food waste. Research methodology: The research was conducted in January-February. The study involved students of the Faculty of Medicine of Vilnius University. A total of 176 respondents (135 women and 41 men) aged 20 to 26 years participated. An anonymous online survey was used to conduct the study. Statistical analysis was performed using “R Commander” and MS Excel software. The level of statistical significance was set at α = 0.05. The results were considered statistically significant when p ≤ 0.05. When analyzing categorical data, the Pearson chi-square (χ2) criterion was applied. Results: Almost all students (97.7%) know what is considered food waste, and most (90.2%) know how to sort it correctly. Most of the information about food waste sorting is obtained from the internet (38.64%). Most students (95.50%) believe that food waste sorting is important and that it affects environmental health (92.60%). Most students do not agree that food waste sorting should be mandatory for every resident (63.60%), most of those who disagree think that food waste sorting is a personal choice (45.45%). A considerable proportion of students believe that sorting contributes to public well-being (26.98%). More than half of students do not sort food waste (54.50%), and of those who do, most say that they do it sometimes (17.60%). Most students do not use a bin or container for food waste (59.10%), but almost a quarter have the opportunity to sort at their place of residence (73.30%). Easier access to sorting facilities would be the main factor encouraging students to start sorting (38.60%). Environmental impact is the primary motivation for those who do sort (40.74%), while those who do not sort often believe that it has no benefit (26.67%). Conclusions: 1) The majority of students know what is classified as food waste and know how to sort it correctly. 2) Most students consider food waste sorting important and believe it impacts environmental health and public well-being; however, the majority do not think it should be mandatory for every resident. 3) The majority of students do not sort food waste, and of those who do, they do so only occasionally, and most students do not use a separate trash can or container for food waste, but more than half of the respondents indicated that they have the ability to sort in their living environment. 4) Most students believe that more convenient access to sorting facilities would encourage them to sort food waste. Among those who sort, environmental impact is the main motivation, while non-sorting students often believe that food waste sorting provides no benefit. |
