The Relationship between “Zero Waste” and Food: Insights from Social Media Trends

Abstract

Zero waste (ZW), the concept of reducing waste production, is now becoming a lifestyle trend. Social media is strengthening this by popularizing the movement and connecting related communities. ZW and food are closely related, since food waste is a significant sustainability issue; however, the exact relationship between ZW and food communication on social networks is not clear. This study analyzed user communication on the social networking site Twitter between July 2008 and April 2023 to determine how members communicated and shared topics related to ZW and food; an analysis of hashtag frequency was also conducted. During the study period, a total of 50,650 tweets with both #zerowaste and #food hashtags were recorded, written by 21,271 unique users from all over the world. Topic analysis identified the nine related topics: ZW lifestyle, leftover recipes, ZW events, food rescue, climate change, packaging, ZW stores, composting, and ZW restaurants; visual analysis indicated that these topics were closely connected, suggesting common membership of these communities. Overall, our results provide insight into the ZW and food communities on Twitter, which may be useful for marketers, influencers, and government agencies to create targeted content and facilitate wider adoption of a ZW lifestyle.