PAPER & DISPOSABLES
Disposables at Christmas
People tend to use more disposables at Christmas: wrapping paper, crackers, cards etc. They also go out to eat and drink more frequently, meaning napkins, kitchen wipes and hand towels also come in for heavier use. How can venues reduce disposables consumption over Christmas, asks Essity’s Lee Radzki.
There’s no doubt about it: Christmas produces a great deal of waste.
Recycling and refuse bins all over the country will be filled with empty delivery boxes, Christmas cards, paper hats and reams of discarded wrapping paper over the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the streets are likely to be littered with empty takeaway containers, coffee cups and drinks cans. Add to these the millions of Christmas trees, turkey carcasses and crackers being disposed of and you’ll have the makings of an enormous festive waste mountain.
Around 30% more waste – including more than a billion Christmas cards – is generated over the festive season than at any other time of year, according to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.
Sustainability-conscious people do what they can to reduce their waste output by sending e-cards, avoiding single-use decorations and by handing out their presents unwrapped or in reusable greetings bags. However, it’s harder to collectively tackle the waste burden that is inevitably created in hospitality venues over the Christmas period.
At this time of the year there will be higher numbers of people eating out and socialising in restaurants, bars and cafes, and this will result in many more napkins, kitchen wipes and washroom disposables being used.
42 | TOMORROW'S CLEANING
The use of single-use products is particularly high in the kitchens of hospitality environments, because disposable cloths and wipers are considered to be more hygienic and convenient than reusable alternatives.
Paper napkins are often preferred on tables and counter tops, too, because these provide a convenient solution that also helps to reduce laundry bills. Of course, disposables are indispensable in the restaurant washroom in the form of toilet paper and hand towels.
The use of paper products can be significantly reduced with the aid of smart dispensing systems, however. Disposable wipers are used extensively in restaurant kitchens for cleaning surfaces, wiping the hands and for mopping up spills, and these are often supplied in loose rolls left strewn around the surfaces.
The idea is that staff members are able to access a wiper whenever they need one, but these wiper rolls frequently go missing – whether because they have been borrowed, pilfered, taken for someone else’s use or left to roll on to the floor where they will become soiled and unusable.
Once the operative has managed to get their hands on a loose wiping roll, he or she is likely to tear off a long length of paper, either to avoid having to go back for more or because the roll makes it easy to do so. This excess paper will then be wasted.
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