On Friday 25 September, the ToNoWaste team at Universitat Jaume I (UJI) took part in Science GTS 2026, the university’s celebration of the European Researchers’ Night, with the family workshop “FoodLab: ciència per a no malgastar” (“FoodLab: Science to Avoid Food Waste”).
Science GTS brought research closer to the public through more than 50 workshops, scientific demonstrations, live experiments and other activities aimed at audiences of all ages. The event took place at the UJI campus in Castelló as part of the European Researchers’ Night.
Led by UJI’s SOGRES-MF research group – Sustainability of Organisations and Management of Social Responsibility – Financial Markets, the FoodLab workshop invited families to become researchers for an afternoon. Through small measurements, experimental games and creative challenges, participants explored how food waste is generated at home and what can be done to prevent it.
The activities encouraged participants to observe everyday habits, collect information and think about practical ways to make food last longer. One of the resources developed for the workshop was a household food waste diary, designed to help families record which foods they throw away, the approximate quantity, the main reason and whether the waste could have been avoided. At the end of the week, families can use the information collected to identify patterns and decide what they could change at home.
FoodLab also introduced participants to concepts such as food waste prevention, proper food storage and the difference between climacteric and non-climacteric fruits. The materials explain, for example, that climacteric fruits continue to ripen after harvesting and produce ethylene, which can also accelerate the ripening of nearby fruit. This knowledge can be translated into simple household actions, such as separating certain fruits to prevent them from deteriorating too quickly.
Other FoodLab resources shared practical advice such as planning purchases, storing food correctly, making use of leftovers and freezing food before it spoils – small actions that can help households reduce avoidable food waste.
The workshop provided an accessible way of connecting scientific research with everyday decisions, encouraging families to look at food waste not only as an environmental challenge, but also as something that can be measured, understood and reduced through changes in daily behaviour.
The activity was linked to ToNoWaste’s work on food sustainability and food waste prevention, bringing project knowledge directly to citizens through a hands-on citizen science approach.