32 Waste Management in Food Service

Vinti Davar

1. Introduction

Foodservice industry is increasing at an exponential rate, so as the issue of managing waste in these establishments. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), United Nations, finds that of the total food produced, a loss of approximately 32 per cent was reported in 2009 (FAO, 2011). Various studies around the globe have also supported this. A study conducted in America by Buzby, Hyman, Stewart, and Wells (2011) concluded that retail and food service industry contributed around 19 per cent of the total food, valued around 86 billion pounds, lost in 2008; whereas in case of Canada, food waste management has costed $2.2 billion (Gooch, Felfel, and Marenick, 2010). So it is requirement of the hour for foodservice industry to minimise waste; it will also help in cost reduction and profit maximisation. For this purpose, waste management has to be a part of organisational philosophy and its designing process to minimise negative impacts on the environment.

2. Objectives

The main purpose of this chapter is to make you aware of the following topics:

• Defining Waste
• Types of Wastes generated in a Foodservice Establishment
• Food Waste – Definition
• Waste Management in Foodservice Organisation

3.  DEFINING WASTE IN A FOODSERVICE INDUSTRY

Waste is the unwanted/undesirable material or substance in an organisation. It is also popularly known as rubbish, trash, junk, garbage etc. Sometimes, waste is also referred as something which we use inefficiently or inappropriately. For a foodservice industry, it can include food, paper, plastic, glass etc. It can be divided into two categories:

1.     Biodegradable waste

2.     Non-biodegradable waste

The Biodegradable waste is also termed as wet waste; it includes wastes from food, vegetable, fruits, meats. Whereas, the non-biodegradable or dry waste refers to plastic, glass, metals etc. Most important type of waste in foodservice industry is Food Waste .

3.1 Food Waste

Food waste or food loss is food that is discarded or lost uneaten. The causes of food waste or loss are numerous, and occur at the stages of production, processing, retailing and consumption.

• Food loss measures the decrease in edible food mass (excluding inedible parts and seed) “throughout the part of the supply chain that specifically leads to edible food for human consumption”, that is, loss at the production, postharvest and processing stages.
• Food waste is food loss occurring during the retail and final consumption stages due to the behavior of retailers and consumers that is, the throwing away of food.

FAO (2013) referred food waste as the food which is of good quality and fit for human consumption but that does not get consumed because it is discarded—either before or after it spoils.

As of 2013, half of all food is wasted worldwide. Loss and wastage occurs at all stages of the food supply chain or value chain. In low-income countries, most loss occurs during production, while in developed countries much food – about 100 kilograms (220 lb) per person per year – is wasted at the consumption stage

Food waste includes leftover portions of meals and trimmings from food preparation in kitchens & restaurants. It is found to be the third largest component of generated waste and is increasing day by day. It is established that over the last 25 years, the food waste has reached to a total of 1.2 million tons. As per the Department of Agriculture (USA), the country produces more than 14 million tons of food waste per year; meaning thereby 106 pounds of food waste per person which is almost 14.3 per cent of the total solid waste. Moreover, only 4.1 per cent of it is composted; the rest is landfilled or incinerated. However the issue of dealing with solid food waste is not simple. Therefore, food service providers have to face several critical issues in terms of waste disposal, energy consumption, wastewater etc.

Managing waste is now termed as Waste Management which includes the process of monitoring waste materials i.e. how much is produced, how it’s collected and how it’s disposed off.

3.2 Solid Waste

Solid waste is that solid matter which is useless, unwanted or discarded. A continuous production of waste creates a serious environmental problem. To tackle this problem we must know about the sources of waste.

3.2.1 Sources of Waste in Food Service Industry

Following are the sources of waste:

1. Waste from the process: It includes packing material, plastic, tins, cans, bottles, paper, rubber, sludge, organic wastes, fruit and vegetable trimmings, plate waste, spoiled food, excess cooked and uncooked food  and fat etc.

2. Waste from slaughtered animals and birds

3. Waste water; washing waste; liquids as tea, coffee, juices and stock etc. 3.3 Effects of Waste

Following are the effects of waste:

1.  Harmful effect on environment.

2.  Unhygienic.

3.  Open breeding sites of insects and infectious organisms.

4.  Polluted air.

5.  Contaminated ground water.

6.  Soil becomes polluted.

3.4 Reasons for Management of Waste

We need waste management in Foodservice industry because of the following reasons:

• To establish high standards of hygiene and sanitation
• For maintaining a safe workplace.
• To reduce impact of waste on the surrounding environment.
• To minimize the amount of waste generated.
• To comply with government regulations

3.5 Main objectives of foodservice waste management are as follows:

·      Encourage all employees and management to aggressively make contributions in the program

i. Waste avoidance

ii. Waste reduction

iii.Waste reuse

iv. Waste recycling programs

• To follow various Environmental Safety Legislation and Policies.
• To adopt and implement the Waste Management Policy from time to time.
• To evaluate the performance and review the current Waste Management practices as per the schedule fixed by management.

4.  Foodservice Waste Management

i) Collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste;

ii)Control, monitoring and regulation of the production, collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste; and

iii)Prevention of waste production through in-process modification, reuse and recycling.

For a successful foodservice waste management, it is necessary that it should be able to minimize the wastes to a minimum level and process the existing waste in the best possible way. It may require the following actions:

•  Prepare a team of employees
• Perform waste Audit
• Re-examine the process of purchasing materials and reassess the business decisions
• Segregating and Weighing Various Types of Wastes
• Ideas- For reducing food waste
•  Follow correct inventory management techniques
• Prepare guidelines for the program
• Try to recycle every waste item

4.1 Prepare a team of employees

A team of persons from various departments should be formed or hire a professional team to do a waste audit. The team of employees may have one or more than one member. It depends on the size of outlet and scale of operations. It is always advisable to indulge person who are concerned with preparation of food, as they are the experts in recipe and preparation which can surely help in reducing waste. Employees of cleaning and washing departments should also form the team members as they are best aware of the waste quantity and type.

The employees with good analytical skills are more helpful in reducing and analysing waste; and they will also foresee the actual conditions of the waste. However, a large number of employees are always undesirable in the team as it will dilute the work and coordination, and will require more efforts on the part of management to concentrate on its core operations. But still, every single employee must have knowledge of the management policies regarding monitoring, storage and recycling of waste generated.

4.2 Perform Waste Audit

There can be two main groups of a restaurant’s waste i.e.

I.  Before dining waste II. After dining waste

The first type of waste includes the waste that is generated during the preparation process i.e. peels and parts of food, bones, spoilage due to accident or any other reason etc. It is established that nearly four to ten percent of a restaurant’s raw food become part of this type of waste. Measures must be taken to minimise this kind of waste.

After dining waste includes everything that guests left after dining commonly known as plate waste. It may have food material or packaging materials. In many countries, serving large food portions is part of promotional campaigns. This is also a very big source of after dining waste in food service organisations.

A fair evaluation of waste shall provide important information about the type and quantity of waste generated by daily operations of a particular food service organisation. This will form basis of how this waste can be dealt i.e. reduction, recycling and reusing.

4.3 Re-examine the process of purchasing materials and reassess the business decisions This assessment is very important as it will be very helpful finding out the source of

waste and garbage. It can be done by:

• Have employee view point
• List and maintain records of various types of waste and its quantities
• The purchase related documents such as invoices etc; and decisions should be re-examined to find out possible loopholes.
• Employees are the main part of the waste generation process and they are the best
• person to guide us in identifying the various sources of waste.

However, it is very importantthat the policies related to waste management are made clear to the employees for their full cooperation. This will help in getting full commitment and enhanced productivity from the employees; and subsequently there will be reduction in waste generated. Along with this, waste should be categorised into various categories and a proper record of every type of waste is kept for a pre-determined period. It can be maintained on paper or on computer. Every possible source of waste should be identified. For the same purpose, one must start from the purchase process. All the documents related to purchase function should be analysed in relation to the waste generated in order to find out some kind of relation between the two. Following documents can greatly help in this exercise:

• Types and quantities of garbage produced
• Purchase Inventory Documents
• Suppliers’ Invoices

4.4 Segregating and Weighing Various Types of Wastes

The most practical way of doing this is using separate bins for different types of waste. These may be colour coded. This is done to ensure proper treatment of different types of wastes. Whether, it is to be recycled, reused or composted etc. Broadly waste from a food service organisation can be divided into organic or non-organic waste; which is further treated as per the policies of the organisation. It is recommended that the waste management should form a vital component of every employee’s training and it must be enforced by constant feedbacks and trainings. Measure the segregated weight. First, measure the empty waste bin. Then, measure the weight of both the container and the waste. Then, find out the weight of total waste of each bin. These figures should be recorded either on paper or in computer. Repeat this process after each shift or each hour, if possible. This will help in finding out the exact amount of each type of waste generated after each shift or each hour. However, it should be kept in mind that the waste handling employees should wear proper gears to protect them from any contamination. It may include masks, gloves, eye protectors, uniforms suited for the job.

4.5 Ideas for reducing food waste

Once the audit of food waste has been done and the quantity and type of the waste has been established. The next logical step is to generate and find out new ideas to reduce food waste. Some of the prevailing ideas for achieving the goals are:

• Modify the menu. The restaurants’ menus must be adjusted to reduce the waste as it can reduce both types of wastes.
• Purchase judiciously. Purchasing should be done very judiciously and preferably in small batches to avoid any possible wastage. .
• Instruct your employees. Employees should be provided with proper practical training to educate the employees about how to avoid waste.
• Buy best quality food production equipment. Equipment is the main resource after employees that need to be taken care of. It is highly recommended that always purchase latest technology and quality equipment which are specialised in particular work. That is why proper use of equipment is also recommended by the staff members.
• Evaluate your service equipment and gears. Service equipment especially plates needs to be evaluated for their contribution in unnecessary generation of food waste. There may be requirement of change in some service equipment. For example: bigger plates may be replaced with smaller ones to avoid unnecessary waste.
• Store perishables at right temperature. The perishables such as fruits, vegetables, meats etc. should be stored at right temperature and separately in suitable packaging and containers. However, these must be monitored regularly for any spoilage and variation in temperature.

4.6 Follow correct Inventory Management techniques. The stored food items must be used and issued strictly as per the scientific inventory management practices. LIFO or FIFO must be followed as per the requirement of the establishment and nature of the item stored. The main aim should be to ensure minimum waste generation and rotation of all the food items to generate maximum profits. Various computer soft wares can be very helpful in maintaining par stock levels and optimum inventory levels for an organisation. This can significantly lower down the food waste and purchase bills for any food service organisation. Unnecessary cluttering of supplies can also be avoided by these soft wares along with identification of expired items, slow moving items etc.

4.7 Build practical guidelines for:

i. Waste minimization

ii. Use of Re-usable products

iii. Recycling

4.8 Educating the staff members about the waste management policy of management.

4.9 Reducing environmental impact of waste management

5. Waste management

Waste management includes following:

• Waste Avoidance
• Waste Reduction
• Waste Reuse
• Waste Recycle

5.1 Waste Avoidance

Prevention is always better than cure. So, first approach should be to minimise waste. For this purpose following measures can be adopted:

• Make amendments in the current food and beverage production and service methods.
• Involve your guests and employees in waste avoidance.
• Consider more green alternatives of raw materials.
•  Avoid bulk buying
• Select reusable and recycled products.
•  Minimise purchase of disposables.
•  Purchase pre-prepared raw materials.
• Promote use of washable cloth-rags in-place of paper towels.
• Discourage use of polystyrene or other disposables.
•  Serve guests in reusable dishes, tumbler and cups.
•  Train your employees for reducing waste.
• Make guests aware of the waste management techniques of your property.
• Reduce breakage of chinaware and glassware by providing incentives to staff for safe handling.
• Use common erasable bulletin or message boards for informing guests and employee instead of using papers.
• Instead of single use packing of condiments, always use refillable condiment dispensers.
• Observe strict portion control.
• Don’t throw away the unused plate or buffet food; it can be donated to orphanage or who are in need.
• Food waste can be used to make manure or animal food.

5.4 Recycling of Waste for a Foodservice organisation

Waste recycle is the collection and reuse of waste materials after recycling such as empty beverage bottles and containers. Few materials such as metals, glass, paper and corrugated boxes can be easily recycled. There is an urgent need for food service organisations to devise a mechanism to make sure that all the recyclable waste is recycled keeping in mind the fact that on an average a restaurant generates almost fifty tons of recyclable food waste. The collection of recyclable waste can be done in different or a single bin and segregated later. All of this can be recycled. This can generate savings to the organisation in terms of reduced energy costs. Foodservice organisations can work in collaboration with local companies for recycling of plastic, copper, aluminium, tin, iron, glass, newspapers, magazines, corrugated sheets and boxes, bottles and products made of PVC, PE, LDPE and PP. This can benefit the society as a whole and the organisation can save waste transportation costs.

5.5 Other ways of waste management

Apart from the above mentioned points, foodservice providers can consider other ways for effective waste management in daily operations of their establishments:

• Perform rotation of various stocks of raw materials.
• Calculate and adjust inventory levels of different supplies to minimise wastage.
• Make scientific evaluation of arranging raw materials in store to ensure easy and smooth access and rotation.
• Raw vegetables and fruits should be stored in reusable airtight containers to prevent spoilage.
• Mark down dates clearly on the raw materials.
• Perform regular quality and quantity inspections on the raw materials delivered to your establishments.
• Keep the storage area hygienically clean.
• Monitor storage temperatures regularly to avoid food spoilage.
• Avoid over-preparation and prepare foods to order.
• Vegetable and meat trimmings can be used for preparing stocks, soups etc.
• Hot food must be stored separately from cold food.
• Raw food must be stored away from cooked food.
• Separate different types of wastes.
• Avoid excessive purchasing.
• Buy items in bulk, whenever possible.
• Involve your supplier and tell him that you are serious about cutting down unnecessary waste.
• Opt for recycled containers
• Purchase in large quantity whenever possible.
• Avoid use of paper napkins while serving beverages and use plastic or cloth coasters.
• In case of purchasing beverages, opt for concentrated or bulk form.
• Soft drinks and beers can be served from a beverage gun or dispenser instead of a bottle or can.
• Regularly check the water syrup ration to ensure proper dispensing of beverages.
• Fruit juices, teas, chocolate drinks etc should be purchased in concentrated form to avoid wastage.
• Purchase mixes related to bar in concentrated form.
• Always opt for cleaning agents which are environmental friendly or less damaging to the environment.
• Buy cleaning agents in bulk packing or in concentrated form to generate less waste.
• Make policy to use reusable supplies or uniforms for food production and food service employees in place of disposables

6.  General Rules for Effective Waste Management

6.1 Teamwork

• Employees are the main and most important resource in any organization. Use them.
• Ask employees to generate ideas. It can be done by simple asking or organise some kind of competition and announce prize for best feasible ideas to reduce waste.
• Outsiders can also be used in same fashion to develop ideas. These can be guests, family members of employees, employees of other establishments.

6.2 Emphasize on reducing waste

• Train your new and existing employees about your goals.
• Invite suggestions from employees and guests regularly.
•  Involve your staff members and educate them about any changes made at their work place and its benefits.
• Mark your waste bins.
• Ask for feedback and communicate over the policies implemented; and discuss these regularly with staff members.

6.3 Get your Guests involved

• Ask your guests to join your organization in the waste management.
• Educate them.
• Keep them informed about this and ask for feedbacks.
• Promote your food waste management efforts to create awareness among various stakeholders of your organization.

7. Waste Disposal Techniques

The main waste disposal techniques are:

§  Incineration

§  Landfill

§  Recycle

§  Composting

Incineration

This is a widely used method in which organic wastes are burnt. Solid wastes are quickly disposed by this technique and reduced to residue less than 25 percent of the original volume. An incinerator burns waste at very high temperature and converts waste to ash, steam and gas. This is a practical method but controversial because of hazardous gas emissions of dioxins, PAHs and furans.

Landfill

Waste disposal is most commonly done by dumping it as landfill outside the residential area. Such landfills invite birds, animals, insects and micro-organisms leading to unhealthy conditions, emitting methane and carbon dioxide gas. Methane gas can create odor problems, kill surface vegetation and is a greenhouse gas.

Whereas a properly designed and well-managed landfill can be a hygienic and relatively inexpensive method of disposing waste materials.

Recycle

Already discussed under 33.5.4 in this module only. Composting

Organic waste such as fruit and vegetable peels, scraps and paper products can be easily converted to compost. Composting is the controlled, natural biological process in which bacteria, fungi, and other organisms decompose organic materials like food wastes. The end product is called compost that can be used as manure in agriculture. In addition, waste gas produced in this process can be used to generate electricity and heat.

8.  Summary

It is estimated that 20% of all food prepared commercially goes to waste. Additionally, almost 30% of a restaurant’s garbage is made up of food waste. That includes prepared food waste, served but uneaten food, unserved food and spoiled food. Food waste, if not avoided, reduced, reused, recycled or properly disposed has detrimental health and environmental effects. Use food wisely and avoid wastage. Donate excess edible food to a local food-bank or a food rescue program.

Web links

• http://www.waste-management-world.com/articles/print/volume-7/issue-7/features/a-welcome-sign-hotels-adopt-reuse-and-recycling.html
• http://www.greenhotelier.org/know-how-guides/reducing-and-managing-food-waste-in-hotels/
• http://www.greenhotelier.org/our-themes/waste-management/
• http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/ReduceWaste/Business/FactSheets/Hotels.htm
• http://www.sustainablehotel.co.uk/Improve_waste.html