The City of La Mesa is working towards reducing food waste from their community through food waste recycling and composting. The goal of this research was to effectively gather data from residents and businesses surrounding attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors related to food waste generation and management. This was completed through surveys and interviews designed to develop rapport with the community, understand concerns, and support implementation of the city’s waste management program. We found overwhelming support for the Zero Waste initiative from residents, with many curious for more knowledge about the subject. Businesses tended to be more apprehensive towards the initiative, noting concerns with health codes and regulations, but they were generally supportive of the program. There was a small portion of respondents that held negative views about this initiative and government oversight. Looking to other cities and countries for their take on food waste reduction, we provided some examples of possible outcomes for the City of La Mesa. From our findings, we recommended more educational outreach to the La Mesa community to ensure proper food waste recycling and community involvement.
Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner.
The Sage Project Contact Info
Kristofer Patron
Program Administrator
kpatron@sdsu.edu
(619) 594-0103
University Faculty Contact
Local Government / Community Contact