Chinese University Food Waste: 4-Week Social Norm Nudge Field Experiment

Daily measurements of edible plate waste collected during a four-week field experiment in October–November 2024 at a Chinese university dining facility. Created by Yuchi Zhang, the data tracks food waste reduction following social norm-based nudge interventions across treatment and control groups. The dataset includes specific metrics for waste weight and plate counts recorded during lunchtime sessions.

Use Cases

• Evaluating the delta in 'average waste per plate' between treatment and control groups to measure nudge impact
• Correlating 'weekday indicators' with total food waste volume to identify peak waste days
• Time-series analysis of nudge effectiveness over the four-week experimental period

Strengths

• Contains primary field experiment data from a controlled university environment
• Includes specific 'average waste per plate' metrics for standardized comparison
• Features a four-week longitudinal tracking period covering both treatment and control groups

Limitations

• Geographic bias limited to a single university dining facility in China
• Short experimental window of approximately 28 days may not reflect long-term behavioral changes
• Small number of experimental units (dining halls) limits statistical power for broader generalization

Provenance

Source

ZHANG, Yuchi via Harvard Dataverse

Collection Method

Field experiment

Time Range

2024-10 to 2024-11

Geography

China