So what is the solution?
WRAP claims that 75% of the thousands of tonnes of food waste generated by the hospitality sector is avoidable. This is great news: it means that there’s plenty business can do to tackle the issue.
1. Food Waste Tracking and Analysis
We treat our waste audits like detective work; our analyses provide accurate and useful data that help identify food waste patterns, identify areas of inefficiency, and implement targeted solutions. Armed with data, we work with our customers to create bespoke improvement plans that reduce waste over time.
Our analysis at King’s Cross helped boost their recycling rates to 81% by identifying where food waste could be diverted and recycled.
2. Food Waste Recycling
With the scoop on your waste habits, we can take action, implementing food waste recycling practices to reduce the amount of food ending up in general waste. Recorra collects food waste from our customers and offers specialist services to recycle coffee grounds and compostable packaging, too. None of the waste we collect goes to landfill; the food waste we collect is instead composted or converted into renewable energy.
Take Paramount’s head office, for example. There, we introduced bespoke bin banks and food segregation systems and equipped kitchenettes with food caddies for tea and coffee waste. Our consultants set up an engagement stand to answer their burning questions. The result was a phenomenal 70% recycling rate.
3. Employee Training and Engagement
When employees become champions of waste reduction – and when employers foster a culture of sustainability within their businesses – great change happens. This most often looks like improved recycling rates for our customers.
Our Engagement Team plays a crucial role in this, offering training sessions to front and back-of-house staff. These sessions not only educate our team about the importance of food waste and recycling but also provide practical tips for implementing best practices. Our engagement work at Ropemaker Place has seen their recycling rate reach a record high of over 6,000kg in April.
4. Food Donation Programs
There are a variety of charities and organisations set up to help tackle food waste and redistribute food to communities in need. In 2023, around 4.7 million people in the UK, 7% of the population, live in food poverty.
We’re diving head-first into the issue. Through volunteer sessions with our partners Plan Zheroes and Fareshare, we facilitate the redistribution of surplus food to communities in need across London. For every food waste collection we receive, we donate the equivalent of one hot meal to our charity partners.