Food waste in Hotels: A proper start is all that is needed
Every year, globally, over a billion tonnes of food goes to waste, where astonishingly, over one-third of this wasted food is intended for human consumption. At the same time, the demand for food grows and 1 in 11 people on Earth are going hungry.
A large share of this waste comes from hotels and restaurants. Whilst these businesses play a central part in our lives and economies, they significantly contribute to financial loss and environmental damage caused when food waste emits methane gas into the atmosphere through decomposition in landfills. Environmental health is an important pillar in tourism sustainability, and it is in everyone’s best interest in developing strategies to reduce food waste.
Broadly speaking there are 3 main factors that contribute significantly to food waste:
Preparation: Flawed food preparation processes account for 45% of the waste.
Customer Leftovers: Customers not finishing their meals lead to 34% of the waste.
Spoilage: Finally, 21% of food waste results from spoilage, often due to overbuying perishable items like meat, fish, and vegetables.
These patterns highlight the need for food and beverage operators to revise their food management strategies. Over-preparation and excessive purchasing are major issues in avoidable waste.
Flawed food Preparation processes
Education on preventing wasting food, measuring and showing the figures daily of food wasted the previous day and how we could make the planet better etc. are ideas which work but only to a certain extent. Hence, the first step toward reducing the amount of food we waste is to change the behaviour of chefs and workers at these restaurants, by finding better and smarter ways to use this food in the kitchen. To combat food waste, various initiatives can be implemented to address much inefficiency by adopting a circular economy approach including designing systems to keep resources in use for as long as possible. In brief, replace the traditional “take-make-dispose linear model which considers waste as an unavoidable byproduct.
Customer Leftovers
Changing the behaviour of the public isn’t easy, mostly since the definition of waste is not self-evident. People waste food when dining at restaurants due to a mix of psychological drivers, operational habits, and social expectations. Certain diners order everything at once, resulting in that large portion of hardly-eaten chicken being left on their plate because they were either too full and/or overestimated how much food they actually needed. Others have a mindset that says “I'm paying for that. I'll do whatever I want to do” to justify wasting food – especially when eating at buffets. For some diners, it depends in particular on the quantity left (some consider that leaving a slice of bread is not wasteful, whereas others think it is), the quality of the product left (an overcooked vegetable will be considered not wasteful) and the nature of the product - for instance leaving the dessert barely eaten because it was too sweet and is unhealthy.
Then there is the internal customer (Staff) who wastes food in the staff cafeteria. Because staff cafeteria food is typically provided as a staff benefit rather than something they pay for individually, employees may feel less psychological or financial pressure to monitor their waste. Hence, Staff working long, demanding shifts often overfill their plates when food is freely and readily accessible, leading to more food than they can actually finish. Several ‘tried and tested’ methods have been carried out by many hotels including the revolutionary sounding but practical measure of introducing a Bin-free-day’ (NBD) every week. The concept involves having no bins to dispose any uneaten food on the plate. The menus are made to meet the requirement that there are no bones nor scales nor food items which could not be eaten in entirety on the menu. High awareness is created through team briefings, videos and fun activities around this concept – before the first “No Bin Day” is launched. Reportedly, the success of the NBD has resulted in many hotels scaling it up from a single day in the week, to twice-weekly –even thrice weekly in some hotels.
Spoilage:
Food spoilage in restaurants can stem from various causes such as over ordering ingredients, improper or inadequate storage conditions, incorrect temperatures or humidity levels and large portion sizes - leading to unnecessary waste of perishable items. Additionally, lack of training among staff on proper food handling and preparation techniques can contribute significantly to waste. Identifying and understanding these aspects is essential for effective waste reduction.
Aligning food preparation with actual demand by Implementing better inventory management and predictive ordering systems can avoid waste and spoilage, not least of all - save money. Whilst many restaurants implement a “first in, first out” (FIFO) inventory system to ensure older products are used before new ones, the adaption of technology and data analytics to obtain insights into waste patterns can also play a crucial role in reducing the risk of spoilage.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Motivational Speaker, Mystery Guest Auditor, Ex-Hotelier
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