Food is where the money is Food waste

Food is where the money is… Food waste and its prevention in the commerical sector Colum Gibson, Clean Technology Centre

What do we know about organic waste in Ireland? Ø In Ireland there is almost half a million tonnes of organic waste generated each year by households and commercial businesses Ø The majority of this is food based waste through it also includes garden and landscape wastes Ø The organic waste is split almost 50: 50 between commercial and household Ø In addition there is significant quantities of process based organic wastes from industrial food processors and producers, much of which goes for rendering Organic Waste Generated in Ireland Commerce 49% Household 51%

The SFW Programme – 2 key parts • Promotion of food waste prevention message – Provide information • Website, materials, newsletter, social media, commercial information and support, commercial food waste tool (new) – National Promotion • National Events • Donal Skehan, Sheila Kiely and cookery demos • Promoting composting – Provide Information – Master Composters & Demo Sites

Food waste is Expensive • When thinking about the cost of food waste, most businesses just think about the disposal costs – but there are other costs to consider • It has been estimated that each tonne of food waste can cost between € 3, 000 € 4, 000 – sometimes less, often times more. That is € 4 per kilo of food waste! This cost includes: – Costs to buy – Costs to cook & manage on site The solution to this waste of money for – Cost of disposal your business is Food Waste Prevention.

Food Waste Prevention To Prevent Food Waste you must first identify where and why food waste is being generated Then come up with solutions to prevent this waste as close to the wasting point as possible. Before you start, consider: • The main food waste producing business types in your area • Typical quantities of food waste generated by different business • The main types of food waste generated by different business

What are the main food waste producing sectors in your area Ø Difficult to assess – every area is different Ø Best estimate - extract data from the EPA National Waste Characterisation studies (2008) Transport & Retail, General Communication, 1. 6% Wholesale, 4. 6% 2. 7% Education, 6. 1% Hotel, 27. 2% Hospitals, 8. 1% Offices, 11. 1% Indicates canteens Restaurant, 15. 5% Food Retail, 23. 2%

How much food waste does your business is produce? • There a series of factors (or indicators) in 2008 Waste Char report for each sector • These indicate the amount of waste generated per sectoral factor • Factors used are a best estimate based on information available – May not be the best actual factor – May not have enough data to generate a truly representative value – Different sites within a sector may have different set-ups e. g. hospitals, restaurants, hotels, etc. – Your business may be better than the norm

Estimated Food Waste Factors Sector Factor Used G: Wholesale G: Food Retail G: General Retail (Drapery) G: filling stations H: Hotels H: Restaurants I: Transport I: Communication J, K & L: Offices (no canteen) M: Education (1 st) M: Education (2 nd) M: Education (3 rd) N: Hospitals (acute) N: Hospitals (long stay) O: Other CANTEEN Employee Numbers Total Waste/Factor tonnes 1. 957 1. 88 % Food Waste Organic Waste/ Factor tonnes 25 37. 7 0. 48925 0. 70876 Employee Numbers 0. 832 3. 1 0. 025792 Employee Numbers Bed nights Employee Numbers Travel numbers Employee Numbers 2. 5 0. 00648 1. 741 0. 000148 0. 436 22 43 46 23 21 0. 55 0. 0027864 0. 80086 0. 00003404 0. 09156 Employee Numbers 0. 126 6 0. 00756 Student numbers Hospital Beds Employees Emplyees 0. 0098 0. 026 0. 042 3. 09 1. 85 0. 75 0. 092 23 38 32 22 25 35 62 0. 002254 0. 00988 0. 01344 0. 6798 0. 4625 0. 2625 0. 05704

Example of use of factors • If you have a primary school with 200 students then you should be generating: – 200 x 0. 0098 = 1. 96 tonnes of total waste each year • Of this, the amount of food waste is – 200 x 0. 002254 = 0. 45 tonnes of food waste annually

In general there are 3 types of food waste Unavoidable Food Waste, 20% Avoidable Food Waste, 60% Potentially Avoidable Food Waste, 20%

What food is being throwing out? 60% Avoidable: – – – plate scrapings leftovers gone off fruit and veg passed date items damaged stock which cannot be used due to H&S, etc. 20% Potentially Avoidable – – – bread crusts or heels made into bread crumbs vegetable trimmings used for stock and soups meat and fish bones used for stock discarded butter for cooking old fruit for jams and smoothies, etc. 20% Unavoidable – banana skins – animal bones (before or after used to make stock), – unusable prep waste (e. g. potato peels with soil on them), etc.

Where is the food waste being in businesses • Different businesses will generate different types of food waste. The ‘where and why’ depends on the type of business: • Food Serving • Retail/Wholesale — Out of date…or is it? ? – Prep Waste — Damaged – Plate Waste — Deli & fresh sales – Unserved Food To identify main areas of food waste then a food waste assessment is the required

3 types of Food Waste Assessment General food waste assessment • Overview of site wide information • No specifics about where and when food waste is produced • Every business do this as part of good management practices Basic food waste assessment • Origins of the main food wastes are identified • Information from general assessment broken down according to where the food waste comes from Detailed food waste assessment • Main types of food waste are examined • Times and reasons of generation looked at • Can be a time consuming process

1. General Survey of food waste from supermarket

• TIP! Remember, make sure your brown bins are full when being removed – do not partially fill lots of bins. Waste contractors usually charge per lift so this will cost you more • Example - On getting new brown bins for the catering department, a small west of Ireland Hospital were shocked when they filled the 6 bins before the end of the first week. There was almost 0. 7 tonnes of food waste being generated weekly costing ~ € 2, 800. • They have since halved their weekly bills through food waste prevention measures

2. Basic Assessment Supermarket Survey staff canteen 7% Household 9% coffee dock 8% front bins 12% deli 30% kitchen 15% shop floor 4% butcher 14%

Canteen Waste Profile Canteen Surveys - Industrial and Commercial Sites 70. 0% 60. 0% 50. 0% 40. 0% 30. 0% 20. 0% 10. 0% Organic Cardboard Paper Plastic Composites Metal Glass Other Wood Textiles

Identify main sources of food waste • Food Waste Survey of on-site canteen: 45. 0% 40. 0% 35. 0% 30. 0% 25. 0% 20. 0% 15. 0% 10. 0% 5. 0% 0. 0% Plate Waste Preparation Waste Unused Cooked Food

Examples of detailed surveys • Food Waste Survey of on-site canteen: 45. 0% – Breakfast 16. 8% – Lunch 40. 4% – Dinner 42. 8% 40. 0% 35. 0% 13. 8% 20. 4% 30. 0% 25. 0% 20. 0% Dinner Lunch 11. 7% 8. 6% Breakfast 15. 0% 10. 0% 14. 6% 9. 9% 5. 0% 18. 8% 2. 2% 0. 0% Plate Waste Preparation Waste Unused Cooked Food

Examples of surveys • Food Waste Survey of Hospital room:

Once you have the info - what do you do about food waste? • Different hierarchies have been proposed Prevention is always the best option

A number of useful Guides

Hot Tomatoes cost €€€’s • Monaghan Bar/Restaurant started looking at food waste as part of LAPN project • Looked at waste coming back from plates • Noted that hot tomatoes were not being eaten • Stopped serving them and saved almost € 2, 000!

Wedding Functions in 2 Hotels Waste Generated at Hotel A Wedding Function Waste Generated at Hotel B Wedding Function 0. 6 0. 5 0. 4 1 st Survey 0. 3 0. 2 2 nd Survey 0. 2 0. 1 0 0 Main Course Meat Vegetables Dessert Preparation Total waste per guest Starter Main Course Meat Main Course Vegetables Dessert Preparation. Total waste per guest • Series of changes made between surveys including: – – Training and awareness Change serving process – central plates Less trimming of veg and meats Better portion control

Intel (USA) Canteen • 12, 000 meals a week in 2 cafes, generating 1. 4 tonnes of pre-consumer food waste per week – – Overproduction Waste trim Spoilage Expiration • Implemented food waste tracking and staff training • Waste down by 47% with savings of 13. 2%

The on-site management option

Sources of information • • • www. ghawards. ie www. localprevention. ie www. greenhealthcareprogramme. ie www. foodwaste. ie http: //www. unileverfoodsolutions. ie/ourservices/your-kitchen/wiseuponfoodwaste

Remember, food waste = money!