What predicts and prevents source separation of household food waste? An application of the theory of planned behavior

•Study examined beliefs on and barriers to food waste management in the U.S.•Theory of planned behavior predicts intent to source separate household food waste.•Individuals have inhibiting concerns about odor, pests and messiness of food waste.•Emerging food waste business models may overcome structural and perception barriers.•Potential education and policy interventions are explored. Food waste is a growing global issue with widespread environmental, economic, and social impacts. Households are both a major driver of waste generation and a key enabler of solutions such as source reduction and composting. In the U.S., household food waste is still predominantly landfilled, motivating this study to understand the beliefs, experiences, and barriers that individuals face when deciding whether to source separate household food waste as a precursor to landfill diversion. To understand these factors, the theory of planned behavior was applied using data collected via a survey of New York State residents and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results indicate that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control are all significantly and positively associated with the intent to separate household food waste. However, respondents also expressed significant concern that food waste separation would lead to odor, pests, and messiness in the home, ultimately resulting in a distinct “yuck factor” construct that had a significant negative association with behavioral intent. These concerns were particularly strong for individuals who had no past experience separating food waste. These findings suggest several potential interventions, including education on how to separate food waste and expansion of curbside collection systems to address consumers' unwillingness to handle waste or clean collection containers.