The crisis ignited by COVID-19 has transformed the volume and composition of waste generation and requires a dynamic response from policy makers. This study selected Bangkok as a case study to semi-quantitatively examine the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on consumer-generated food and plastic waste by examining changes in lifestyles and consumption behaviour through a face-to-face questionnaire survey. Travel bans and diminished economic activity due to COVID-19 have led to a dramatic reduction in waste from the business sector and in the total amount of municipal waste generated. However, the results of the survey showed that both food and plastic waste generated by households in Bangkok increased during COVID-19. The shift from eating out to online food delivery services led to an increase in plastic bags, hot-and-cold food bags, plastic food containers, and food waste. Reasons for the increase in household food waste during COVID-19 varied, with respondents citing excessive amounts of food and unappetising taste, followed by exceeding the expiration date and rotting/foul odours. These reasons may be the result of the inability to predict quantity and quality when ordering online, and inadequate food planning and management by consumers. To achieve more effective food and plastic waste management, home delivery services, consumer food planning and management, and the formation of a circular economy based on localised supply chains may be considered as important intervention points.

Urban food waste issues in developing economies have recently attracted the attention of policymakers, practitioners, and academics in the course of implementing the Paris Agreement and the SDGs. In our case study city of Bangkok, Thailand, household food waste generation doubled from 2003 to 2018, with a similar increase in per capita amounts. Using an extensive literature review, statistical models, and a questionnaire survey, the authors clarified factors influencing food waste generation and separation before disposal, and reuse/recycling activity in urban households. Results showed that pre-purchase checks can not only prevent food waste but can also increase the reuse/recycling of food waste. Citizens with higher levels of education and those showing more concern about social issues and global warming are more likely to separate food waste before disposal and to participate in reuse/recycling activities. Finally, this paper proposes a seven-stage action-based model of integrated strategies for improving household food and food waste management to prevent/reduce food waste generation as well as remedy existing policy gaps in Bangkok.

Ensuring sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns is an important task for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 12 by 2030. To facilitate international and domestic collaboration toward regional SCP, we developed a collaborative workshop method to generate and structure ideas about consumption and production (CP) patterns and employed the procedures for emerging Southeast Asian countries at workshops in Japan and Thailand. The main focus was on Bangkok, and the goal was to identify the implications of SCP policies. The structuring of seventeen SCP patterns chosen from 525 CP patterns generated at the workshops helped to identify the important influential factors, policy interventions, and features of probable SCP patterns. The main conclusions were the following: (1) The viewpoints of consumers and providers are important for idea generation. The products and services, as well as the systems of CP patterns, should be targeted; (2) Transition, improvement of the quality of life, and digitalization are also key directions of SCP patterns in Bangkok; (3) Culture, infrastructure, and industry are major considerations for regional SCP policy; and (4) SCP policy instruments are broader than conventional environmental policy instruments, and expanding the scope of SCP policy should be discussed more widely, especially in Asian countries.

Without understanding the characteristics of disadvantaged individuals who are at risk of malnutrition, it is impossible for policymakers to develop and implement effective policies to combat malnourishment among individuals facing income insecurity. With an accurate picture of who is at the greatest risk, policymakers will be able to target the most vulnerable population and develop interventions tailored to their needs. However, there is a dearth of research in Thailand which presents such characteristics and makes it more difficult to design appropriate policy interventions. This study we applied a logit regression model on data collected by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2021 (n = 981). The findings of this study indicate that gender, age, place of residence, educational attainment, and family composition are all strong predictors of access to adequate nutrition among those who are financially disadvantaged. Specifically, we observed that women aged 30–44 years old are 11.5% more likely to not have access to adequate nutrition due to financial constraints compared to those aged 18–29 years old. In consideration of these important predictors, policymakers are recommended to take bold steps including these aforementioned factors while formulating strategies and policy interventions to address malnutrition among the financially disadvantaged.

Climate change poses a significant threat to global agricultural sectors and their supply chains, with far-reaching implications for economic stability and growth, particularly in developing countries heavily reliant on agriculture. In this study, we employ a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) framework to analyze the linkages between the agricultural sector and the broader economy and to assess the potential economic losses from climate change to inform stakeholders of its wider impacts. By analyzing three scenarios of agricultural production declines (0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3%), we can quantify the economic loss thresholds, which include production losses, household losses, and circular effects from injected income across both agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. Our calculations reveal that even minor reductions in agricultural output lead to substantial economic losses, with a 0.1% decline resulting in an 11.04 billion THB (0.32 billion USD) loss, escalating to 33.11 billion THB (1.01 billion USD) for a 0.3% decline. At the sectoral level, production losses were most concentrated in input-supplying industries such as chemicals, machinery, and energy. From a household perspective, farmers in the rubber and sugarcane sectors were among the most affected. Additionally, sectors like wholesale and retail trade experienced losses due to disruptions in economic circulation. These findings highlight the importance of strengthening the resilience of agriculture-related industries and reforming the agricultural sector to align with their consumption and production patterns. Such measures are crucial for ensuring sustainable agricultural development in response to climate change.