Concerns and Challenges Related to Food Waste Governance in Malaysia

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-785-9_33How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Food Waste; Environmental Sustainability; Solid Waste; Waste Governance Model

Abstract

Food waste is a significant problem for the economy, environment and food security. The amount of waste created everyday by the retail sector is phenomenal. In the retail industry, food waste is largely caused by demand uncertainty – the retailer stocks inventory without knowing demand, and the unsold stock then becomes waste. Government efforts thus far have focused on managing waste disposal through regulation and public awareness. There is very minimal effort put into waste monitoring and reduction. This study aims to address the issue of food waste governance by the retail sector by focusing on monitoring and control mechanisms to reduce food waste. The focus is to investigate how stock and waste are being monitored and controlled in a retail setting, and how they interact with other mechanisms for reducing waste (i.e., food donation, waste separation, waste management and waste disposal). Thus, the study aims to investigate the concerns and challenges of food waste governance in Malaysia. Although the research focuses on developing a food waste monitoring and control governance model, analysis of existing relevant laws in Malaysia will also be carried out despite the legal framework not being the primary aim of the research. The research employs a library-based approach, focusing on the laws and policies governing food waste in Malaysia, as well as a qualitative approach that involves a review of the available literature on the subject as a means of data gathering. The governance model will provide significant input to the retailer and government in developing a management system of food waste governance towards environmental sustainability.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Noor Farihah Mohd Noor
AU  - Ani Munirah Mohamad
AU  - Nor Anita Abdullah
AU  - Siti Hafsyah Idris
AU  - Anis Najihah Mazlan
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/07
TI  - Concerns and Challenges Related to Food Waste Governance in Malaysia
BT  - Proceedings of the UUM 13th International Legal Conference 2025 (UUMILC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 481
EP  - 505
SN  - 2667-128X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-785-9_33
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-785-9_33
ID  - Noor2026
ER  -