Food waste and fridges: an object-orientated approach for sustainable food futures

This research aims to understand how fridges interact with household dynamics in the generation and prevention of food waste, and how they might function as a site to develop pathways towards more sustainable food futures.

Attention to fridges and sustainability has historically focused on technological improvements for energy efficiency and move away from CFCs. More recently they have been analysed as a conduit for food waste practices (Evans, 2012; Wait & Philips, 2015; Heidenstrom and Hebrok, 2021). This project will take a step further and explore the active role of the fridge in generating and preventing food waste in the household. Informed by actor-network theory (Latour 2005), the research design involves three overlapping 'segments' - related to the past, the present, and possible future - that place the fridge at the centre of the analysis. By exploring the co-evolution of fridges and household food waste, the study will shed new light on the prospects for more sustainable futures.