Waste Round Up. - Guide No.10 - in a series of 10 for you to collect and keep

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1 Waste Round Up - Guide No.10 - in a series of 10 for you to collect and keep WASTE NOT WANT NOT Bite sized guide to help hospitality businesses to find innovative ways to reduce waste

2 In this final issue of Waste Not Want Not, we bring you a summary of why we are reducing waste and what happens to the waste once it s left your premises. Use this edition alongside your waste training to remind your staff why it s important to reduce their waste. The waste hierarchy shows you the best ways to reduce your waste The waste hierarchy sets out five steps for dealing with waste, ranked according to their environmental impact. This hierarchy has been incorporated in UK law, meaning that businesses have a legal obligation to consider this. Our Waste Not Want Not series has focused on how you could reduce and re-use your food waste, for example managing your stock or changing ingredients in dishes, which not only cuts waste but can increase your restaurant profitability. You can also recycle items, giving them a second lease of life. After that, recovery and landfill often lies with your waste management company. It s important to carefully dispose of items so they don t end up in landfill. Ask your team to guess how long it takes for these items to decompose Most favoured option Reduce Reuse Recycle Recovery Lowering the amount of waste produced Using material repeatedly Using materials to make new products Recovering energy from waste Juice carton: 3 months Tin can: 50 years Crisp packets: 80 years Plastic bottle: 450 years Plastic bags: years Landfill Least favoured option Safe disposal of waste to landfill Reduce Each ingredient that goes into a dish requires water, energy and packaging, as well as transportation and labour to make a meal so preventing waste can increase your bottom line and environmental sustainability. With daily stock checks and an engaged team, a great deal of food waste can be prevented. Raw materials Growing / Agricultural Preparing / Manufacturing Ingredients Storing Labour

3 Reuse Our Managing Surplus edition looked into ways you could reuse or redistribute your surplus food; if you haven t already have a look to see if you could partner with a food bank or charity. Food Banks Non-perishable items, for example excess stock, can be donated to food banks which are distributed to families to use at home. Charities Numerous national charities link volunteers, surplus food and kitchen space, to create delicious meals for vulnerable people. Recycle Challenge Your Team: How much waste can you direct away from landfill? Check with your waste management company to make sure you re recycling as much as possible. Glass can be recycled again and again and as long as it is processed properly and the quality is not affected. Dry, clean packaging can be recycled There are so many new and innovative companies which now take anything from cooking oil to coffee grounds which they then reprocess. As well as food, you can arrange for your garden waste to be collected. Don t forget that any old and broken equipment or furniture can often be re-used or donated to innovative companies to recycle. It important to ensure that the different waste streams are separated at source. If recycling is contaminated with food waste, then it will still end up going to landfill or incineration along with general waste. Correct labelling of bins and posters, along with training, can help to ensure as much of your waste as possible is directed away from landfill WRAP have free resources and tools to help with recycling in your business.

4 Recovery Once it has left the kitchen, your food waste is taken to an anaerobic digester station where it is broken down by micro-organisms. The process creates methane gas (also known as biogas) that can be used as a fuel to generate heat and electricity. As it s a natural way to create energy, it helps cut non-renewable fossil fuels. What s left of the food is very rich in nutrients and, once treated, is an excellent fertiliser for crops. Did you know? Every tonne of food waste recycled by anaerobic digestion as an alternative to landfill can save enough energy to run a light bulb continuously for 5 years! Waste Not Want Not series: 1. Quick Wins to Save Money 2. Engaging your Staff to Reduce Waste 3. Waste Misconceptions 4. Managing Surplus 5. Working with your Supply Chain 6. Waste Management Training 7. The Hidden Cost of Waste 8. Business Case for Sustainability 9. Menu Tips to Reduce Food Waste 10. Waste Round Up

5 Practical advice and expert know-how for the hospitality industry created through collaboration between Winnow, SWR and the BHA: The BHA aims to be the single most powerful voice actively championing the interests of the whole industry and its business partnership scheme enables the best suppliers and partners to the industry to participate in developing insight and sharing best practice. SWR offers a comprehensive, integrated waste management service, helping companies control costs and improve their recycling and sustainable environmental performance. Winnow is the revolutionary smart meter that helps kitchens cut food waste in half by automatically measuring what s put in the bin. #wastenotwantnot Get in touch with us - we d love to hear from you! policy@bha.org.uk