Digitally enabled food sharing platforms towards effective waste management in a circular economy: a System Dynamics simulation model

As a solution to tackle the food waste (FW) challenge, digitally enabled food sharing platforms (FSPs) are emerging as FW warriors and anti-waste social movements. Despite the rapidly growing number of users, the amount of FW prevented per user in these platforms is relatively low. Hence, the real contribution of FSPs to the circular economy (CE) by preventing FW is still blurred. To fill this gap, a System Dynamics simulation model is developed in this research to unfold how people adopt such platforms over time, and how such platforms contribute to the CE through FW prevention. The model is used to simulate the adoption and performance of Italy’s Too Good To Go (TGTG) platform spanning 2015- 2060 as a reference case. The results show that although TGTG is a successful FSP in terms of adoption, it can still significantly improve in terms of performance. Besides, while the current TGTG’s marketing strategy is effective, knowledge-enhancing activities should be strengthened to improve performance. Hence, this research recommends a winning policy, which can reduce approximately 3% of the total FW generated at the country level (Italy) in 2060, a significant contribution to the CE transition.