HOTELS & HOSPITALITY A COMPLETE WASTE
Philip Simpson, Commercial Director at ReFood, explores the hospitality sector’s growing food waste problem and explains how embracing innovative recycling solutions can help businesses to save money and improve their sustainability credentials.
According to insight from WRAP, the hospitality sector throws away more than two million tonnes of food waste every year – nearly one in every six plates of food served. With more than 40% considered completely avoidable, Zero Waste Scotland estimates that the sector is wasting £3.2m per annum, with the average business throwing away upwards of £20,000.
With streamlining overheads an important management priority and revenues still recovering from the seismic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, these statistics are truly eye-opening. However, it’s important to remember that pressure on finances is just one of the costs associated with food waste.
Indeed, when left to rot in landfill, food generates greenhouse gases considered 21 times more damaging to the environment than CO2. If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest polluter in the world (after China and the USA). In addition, the water, energy and resources used to grow food is vast – by far humanity’s biggest drain on resources.
But while the picture may look incredibly bleak, there is a solution – and a simple one at that – food waste recycling.
Creating energy from unwanted waste A simple and sustainable alternative to sending food waste to landfill, food waste recycling sees food and beverage waste used to generate renewable energy. While not the silver bullet solution, it’s a highly efficient way to create value from a waste stream that many would consider worthless.
Harnessing the anaerobic digestion (AD) process, food waste recycling sees organic matter naturally degraded in the absence of oxygen. The methane released is captured and either combusted to generate renewable electricity and heat, or upgraded and injected directly into the national gas grid. Nothing is wasted – even the residual digestate can be repurposed as a sustainable biofertiliser.
As a UK-based food waste recycler, ReFood works with businesses operating across the hospitality sector (as
well as countless other industries) to turn unwanted waste into clean, green energy. Our three AD facilities in the UK process upwards of 400,000 tonnes of food waste every year, generating enough renewable energy to power 24,000 homes in result.
Quick, simple, effective While many hospitality businesses are worried that implementing a food waste recycling service will be costly and complex, this is far from the case. In fact, by avoiding the expensive landfill tax applied to all general waste collections, businesses can often cut their waste management costs by more than 50%.
In addition, its straightforward from an operations perspective too. The ReFood ‘bin swap’ service, for example, sees full bins swapped with clean, sanitised replacements. This allows bins to be hygienically used in kitchen areas – enabling separation of waste at source. As such, rather than yet another disruption to an already busy role, staff simply place general waste in one bin and food waste in another.
And the benefits don’t stop there. Indeed, according to a recent survey by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA), patrons are hugely supportive of businesses that can demonstrate their commitment to minimising environmental impact and would be far more likely to visit an establishment that highlights its green credentials.
So, alongside cutting costs and offsetting environmental impact, embracing food waste recycling could actually see cover numbers increase!
Make the change today At ReFood, our message to the hospitality sector is simple – food waste is costly and hugely damaging to the environment. It impacts on profits; it contributes to climate change and it depletes valuable natural resources.
By implementing a food waste recycling service, businesses can cut costs and improve their green credentials. Rather than difficult or expensive, it’s quick, simple and can save money. What’s more, it can prove a valuable differentiator to eco-minded customers, who look towards businesses that can demonstrate their commitment to the environment.
It sounds too good to be true, but there really isn’t a catch. Food waste recycling is the best way to manage unavoidable food waste and hospitality businesses should seize the opportunity. The benefits speak for themselves.
www.refood.co.uk 26 | TOMORROW’S FM
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