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Waste Reduction for the Food Service Industry. Saving Green By Going Green. Kimberley Fenton Asheville Hospitality Workshop September 4, 2001. Waste Happens. PURCHASING. General Tips for Purchasing.
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Waste Reduction for the Food Service Industry Saving Green By Going Green Kimberley Fenton Asheville Hospitality Workshop September 4, 2001
General Tips for Purchasing • Purchase products that are packaged in ways that can reduce the amount of material being disposed • Work out a program with your supplier to take back the shipping boxes for reuse or recycling, or to purchase and ship in durable containers
Paper Supplies • Buy products made from recyclable materials • Avoid polystyrene • Buy straw type plastic or wood stir-sticks • Serve straws from health-department approved dispensers • Use reusable coasters instead of paper napkins
Janitorial & Restaurant Supplies • Use reusable table linen and durable dishware • Use reusable ashtrays • Use roll-type paper towels in your restrooms and at hand sinks instead of pre-cut towels • Use cloth cleaning towels instead of paper • Use plastic trashcan liners made from recycled HDPE instead of LDPE.
Beverages • Serve carbonated beverages from a beverage gun or dispenser rather than by the bottle or can • Buy bar mixes in concentrate form rather than using ready-to-use mixes.
Grocery Items • Purchase condiments in bulk containers • Purchase cleaning supplies in concentrate • Use multipurpose cleaners • Use cleanable and reusable hats for kitchen employees instead of disposables
Grocery Items (continued) • Buy meats in bulk or uncut form and cut to size • Consider buying eggs shelled in bulk • Pre-cool steam-table hot foods before placing them in the cooler • Reuse left-over cream-based soups and sauces within 2 days • Store leftover hot foods in separate containers
Back of the House • Develop and implement a weekly cleaning and maintenance program for all equipment • Keep equipment calibrated • Create incentives for staff to reduce the breakage or loss of your china, glass, silver. • Place rubber mats around bus and dishwashing stations to reduce china and glass breakage
Back of the House (continued) • Have employees use permanent-ware mugs or cups for their drinks • Minimize excess use of trash bag liners by manually compacting the trash in your garbage cans and emptying only when full. • Check for discarded permanent-ware (e.g. serving trays, silverware) before throwing out dining room trash
Front of House • Distribute condiments, cutlery, and accessories from behind the counter • Avoid unnecessary extra packaging at take-out • Use less packaging for eat-in foods than for food being taken out, or use none at all
Recycling • Set up a recycling program for cans, glass, plastics and cardboard • Place a recycling bin in the quick-service dining area for your customers • Ensure that your containers are easily accessible • Avoid contamination • Train staff continuously. • Use incentives.
Food Waste Management • Rotate perishable stocks at every delivery to minimize spoilage (F.I./F.O) • Scrape leftovers into a food waste container before washing and avoid sending it down the drain • Contract with a rendering service to recycle used cooking oil, meat, and trap grease
Food Waste (continued) • Donate excess edible food to a local food bank or food rescue program • Donate inedible food waste to a licensed “garbage feeder” or compost it
Edible Food Waste • Edible food waste can be donated to a local prepared and perishable food program • PPFP’s provide pickup from donors on a daily, weekly, and on-call basis • Provide trained staff to inspect, handle, and safely transport the food • Provide liability protection to donor
Inedible Food Waste • Inedible food waste includes spoilage, preparation waste, post-consumer food waste, food that has been “set out” • Contact a commercial composting operator to pick up your inedible food waste • Contact a local garbage feeder who will collect your food waste free-of-charge to feed livestock • Contact a local farmer who may want to land-apply the food as a soil enhancement
Good Business • Waste reduction leads to increased operating efficiency and cost savings
Customer Satisfaction • Consumers have a higher perception of “environmentally conscious” businesses and are more likely to patronize them
Tax Benefits • Donations to businesses classified as 501 ( c ) (3) [non-profits] by the IRS including a portion of the value of prepared food, may be tax deductible
Boosts Employee Morale • Team building occurs when staff find ways to work together on projects that benefit the community. • By putting lower level staff in charge of such projects, it boosts self-esteem • Happy staff = less turnover
Helps Uncover Waste • A waste assessment of your facility will help to reveal how much waste actually occurs in your day-to-day operations
Reduces Disposal Costs • By reducing waste, businesses can reduce the size of their dumpster and/or frequency of pickups • Food waste diversion specifically can help to significantly reduce your monthly solid waste costs
Gives Back to the Community • By being a better environmental and corporate citizen, you give back to your community • Food donation programs can help get edible food waste out of your trashcan and into the hands of those in your community who need it
Good Stewardship • North Carolina is challenged in maintaining its clean waters, air, and land • All N.C. citizens have a stake in preserving the environment and a responsibility to future generations to keep N.C. clean and green.
A Win-Win-Win Waste Solution • Businesses win by reducing their purchasing and solid waste disposal costs and reaping tax benefits • Communities win by reducing the waste going to landfills and by keeping a cleaner environment • Charities win by obtaining food and supplies to help those most in need
The Green Plan for Food Services Mission: • Promote and encourage development of waste reduction and recycling programs • Reduce the overall amount of solid waste going to landfill • Reduce food waste going to landfill by promoting food donation, composting and garbage feeding programs • Reduce sanitary sewer overflows caused by oil and grease discharges
For More Information • Visit the Green Plan website at: www.p2pays.org/food • Contact: Kim Fenton: kim.fenton@ncmail.net Norma Murphy: norma.murphy@ncmail.net • Call DPPEA: (919) 715-6500 DPPEA Toll Free: (800) 763-0136