NHSScotland Action on Food Waste

1. NHSScotlandAction on Food Waste

2. Aims of the course • Understand why improving resource and waste management is important • Assess the real cost of food waste • Appreciate the opportunities for minimising food waste • Develop an action plan to prevent food waste in your business

3. Current use of the world’s natural resources +

4. Future use of the world’s natural resources

5. Increasing resource demand 23% oil 68% copper 18% cotton 16% soya Growth in Chinese demand since 2009

6. Critical resources are running short • Indium <10 years • Copper <25 years • Zinc <40 years • Phosphorus <50 years

7. High supply risk of critical resources

8. Cost increases as demand outstrips supply Source: Chatham House

9. The environmental impact of meeting our resource needs

10. How much food is wasted? • Almost 260,000 outlets in the UK ranging from cafés to hotels and hospitals • Each year, the HaFSsector: • serves over 8 billion meals; and • produces over 2.87 million tonnes of food and packaging waste • nearly 1 million tonnes of this waste produced is food waste • Three-quarters of this food waste could have been eaten; this is equivalent to throwing away one in six meals served

11. Where does food waste occur? Food waste may occur at any or all of the following stages: • Storage and handling • Production • Unserved meals at ward level • Uneaten food left on patients/customers plates • Food left at end of service in Dining Rooms

12. Types of food waste • Avoidable food waste • Food waste that was edible and could have been eaten if it had been better portioned, managed, stored and/or prepared • Unavoidable food waste • Food waste that is not, and has not been, edible under normal circumstances • Meat bones, egg shells, pineapple skin, tea bags, potato skins from chip production…

13. Composition of mixed waste in the hospitality sector, 2012

14. Avoidable and unavoidable food waste in the hospitality sector, 2012

15. Avoidable food waste categories ranked by % weight

16. Scotland’s Zero Waste Plan Zero Waste means reducing the unnecessary use of raw materials; re-using products where possible and recovering value from products when they reach the end of their lives either through recycling, composting or energy recovery

17. The Waste (Scotland) Regulations Recycling Requirements • From 1st January 2014, healthcare facilities must take all reasonable steps to present at least the following key dry recyclables for collection: • Metals • Glass • Plastics • Paper • Card (including cardboard)

18. The Waste (Scotland) Regulations Food Waste Requirements • Food waste businesses producing over 50kg of food waste per week to present it for separate collection from 1 January 2014 • Those producing over 5kg of food waste per week to present it for separate collection from 1 January 2016 • Rural facilities are exempt from the requirement to present food waste for separate collection

19. The Waste (Scotland) Regulations Food Waste Requirements • Food waste disposers (i.e. macerators) cannot be used to discharge food waste to a drain or sewer • Systems which de-water food waste at source and store the solid material for collection and treatment are acceptable if they are configured to maximise the capture of organic material for recycling

20. Food waste collection systems • Waste containers - similar to the caddy collection service used by many domestic households • De-watering system - waste is deposited in a food waste disposer where it is de-watered and deposited in a bin or storage vessel for collection • Holding Tanks – food waste is deposited in a ‘disposal unit’ from where it is transferred by vacuum or pump to a sealed holding tank

21. Options for the disposal of food waste • Collection and recycling at in-vessel composting facilities (both off-site and on-site) • Collection and recycling at an anaerobic digestion facility (both off-site and on-site)

22. In Vessel Composting (IVC)

23. Anaerobic Digestion (AD)

24. The Waste Hierarchy Most preferred option Least preferred option

25. The Waste Hierarchy – your duties • By end 2013, all businesses and organisations are to take all reasonable steps to apply the Waste Hierarchy to their products, services and operations • You must endeavour to first prevent the waste arising and then take steps to prepare the waste for re-use and engage in ‘high quality’ recycling before other recycling and recovery activities are considered • For each waste stream you handle, you should ensure that you are taking the necessary steps to apply the waste hierarchy • If you are making decisions on waste management, you must be able to justify them. It is good practice therefore to keep a record of your decisions

26. Waste hierarchy options for food Prevention • Smart purchasing • Minimising plate waste and unserved meals Prepare for reuse • Re-using leftovers for staff meals Recycling / other recovery • Anaerobic digestion • In vessel composting Disposal • Ban on the disposal of food waste to landfill from 2016

27. The story of food When you throw away food you are not just wasting the food, but also the resources such as energy, fuel, time and water that went into growing, harvesting, storing, transporting and cooking the food We produce four billion tonnes of food per annum Due to poor practices in harvesting, storage and transportation, it is estimated that 30–50% of all food produced is wasted before it reaches a plate

28. Disposal costs: Landfill charges, collection costs, transport costs VISIBLE COSTS Energy used to prepare and cook meals Water used to prepare and cook meals Cost of purchasing food now discarded Labour e.g. staff time to transport meals to wards Labour e.g. kitchen staff associated with preparation and cooking of food Administration associated with invoicing of food supplies Lost profit HIDDEN COSTS

29. The real cost of food waste

30. The true cost of food waste • The real cost of food waste is £2,300 per tonne! • Or £0.22 per meal • Or £229 for every 240 litre wheeled bin • Just one wheeled bin a week would cost you almost £12,000 a year • The prevention of food waste offers a significant opportunities to reduce waste and cut costs

31. The environment cost of food waste Each tonne of food waste disposed in landfill will generate 4.2 tonnes of greenhouse gases contributing to climate change Disposal of food waste to landfill releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 25 times higher than CO2

32. What are you throwing away? Measuring your waste will allow you to identify: • The types of waste you produce • Where these wastes occur • Why these wastes occur • The volumes of waste produced and costs involved • Priority areas for reducing food waste

33. Food Waste Audit • To estimate the possible savings, you need to start measuring food waste • You will get the best picture of what actions you need to take by measuring food waste where it occurs: • Spoilage from kitchen • Spoilage from ward • Waste from preparation • Patient / customer plate waste • Unserved meals

34. Step 1 – Gather your tools • If using weighing method: • Containers that you can collect food waste (approximately 5 to 10 litre in size) • Digital weighing scales that can weigh up to 10kg • Recording sheets for each of the four areas where food waste is typically generated • If using container method: • Containers that you can collect food waste (approximately 5 to 10 litres in size) • Recording sheets for each of the four areas where food waste is typically generated

35. Food waste recording sheet

36. Step 2 – Train staff It is important that all relevant staff understand why the food waste audit is being carried out and what is required of them The audit process should be designed to be simple and quick to carry out It is recommended that a briefing session is given to all relevant staff

37. Step 3 – Measure waste • Ensure all food waste bins are empty at the start of the survey • Always check that the food waste weight has been recorded in kilograms • Weigh or count the number of food waste bins in each area at the end of each meal • The information should be written into the Recording Sheet at the end of each meal

38. Step 4 – Decide how long to collect the data Collect data over a sensible period for the size of your business Recording the number of waste bins filled over a typical day will usually be appropriate Repeat measurements daily over a week or a fortnight so that you can capture the impacts of ingredients coming out of storage and menu changes

39. Calculating your food waste • If you record the volume of waste, you can also estimate its equivalent weight • Multiply the total volume of waste by 0.55 (a standard factor used to convert volume to weight) • For example: If you use a 5 litre bin and you fill it 5 times, then the weight is estimated as (5 litres x 5 bin fills) x 0.55 = 13.75 kg • If you record the weight of waste, remember to subtract the weight of the empty food waste bin

40. Analyse your data Make sure to express the food waste quantity per patient for each meal in each area Expressing the results in easy to read graphs may help you to convey the results to others Is there a consistent level of waste generated per patient eating? What is the reason for a ward or area having a very high level of food waste generation compared to others?

41. Food Waste Prevention • There is always scope for reducing food waste, regardless of the type of food systems in operation • Some key areas to focus on include: • Procurement • Ordering • Bulk services & portion size • Condiments

42. Ordering Systems • Every hospital knows how their patient meal ordering system should work but it is important to check how it actually works • Are the menus actually used to generate the number of meals required? • Is there enough assistance for patients, particularly elderly patients to correctly fill in paper menus? • For centrally plated systems, do staff check that paper menus are properly filled in, before being sent to the main kitchen? • If there are options for portion size on the menu, do staff adhere to these when plating?

43. Portion Sizes • Nutrition is a very important considerations in the overall treatment and care of a patient. All food waste reduction measures, that affect portion size, should be undertaken in consultation with the relevant authority • If high levels of plate waste are generated, consider: • Smaller plate sizes • Smaller scoop sizes • Other issues to consider: • Potatoes and vegetables – consider the scoop sizes and the numbers of scoops provided • Elderly patients or those with poor appetite – consider providing smaller portions • Special meal options (e.g. vegetarian) – consider providing smaller portion as these are often observed to be oversized especially when side vegetables are provided

44. How to reduce food waste in wards Talk to staff who serve patient meals and collect trays about popular and unpopular items Consider if it is possible to remove these items from the menu cycle and replace with more appealing, nutritionally equivalent foods

45. Bulk Food System It is important to pre-portion meal components For food with a high sauce content, the number of portions per container size should be determined For solid food, the contents of the tray should be pre-portioned in the main kitchen. For less popular food, provide the required number of portions in a smaller container Determine the correct number of portions per ward for food such as porridge and soup

46. Food waste prevention actions • Our catering department is already doing this in all units • Our catering department is already doing this is some units • Our catering department is not doing this but would be interested in trialling it • This would not work in our catering department

47. Action plan and prioritising actions

48. Hospitality and Food Service Agreement • Prevention target • Reduce food and associated packaging waste arising by 5% by the end of 2015 • Waste management target • Increase the overall rate of food and packaging waste being recycled to at least 70% by the end of 2015

49. HaFSAgreement signatories

50. Any questions