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FOOD WASTE PRACTICES TO CONSIDER
Source Reduction
- Conduct a Waste Analysis – This gives you a roadmap to follow for setting priorities and making prudent decisions that are based on efficiency versus guesswork. The waste audit can be as basic or as detailed as you have time for but the point is to perform some type of waste audit that can be used as a basis for decision-making.
- Reduce Pre-Sale Food Prep Waste – This is all the Kitchen Waste that is generated prior to the sales to customers. It is estimated that up to 10% of the food purchased ends up becoming Pre-Sale food waste. To control waste in these areas be aware of the quantity and timing of food that is ordered; re-think production and handling practices; have your staff try to observe and pinpoint where most of the waste is occurring in the preparation process; take a closer look at the menu to see if certain items or groups of items account for most of the excess waste in the preparation stages; check out possibilities for donating any excess prep waste to local food shelters
- Reduce Post Sale Food Waste – This mainly involves waste from plates and order returns. Some ways to control this waste include: Removing trays from the process so that patrons do not have a tendency to pile food up on the tray; controlling the size of the portions given to patrons and modifications to the menus based on close observations by the staff as to what is being discarded most often by patrons.
Feed the Hungry
There are many agencies that are anxious to distribute surplus food to the hungry. A few of the largest and well organized are below but there are literally hundreds in each local area. In addition to doing your part for hunger relief, there are also tax advantages when donating surplus food.
http://feedingamerica.org/default.aspx#
Feed Animals
Secondary to Feed the Hungry programs there is a need to make food discards available for feeding animals. This could involve provisions for farmers, zoos and many other applications. Converting food discards to animal feed and pet food is fairly common and is a great option for recycling food scraps.
Industrial Uses
Oftentimes food waste can be used in the rendering industry for converting these materials to soaps, cosmetics and even biodiesel fuel which is an alternative fuel produced from virgin oils (such as soybean, canola and palm); cooking oil and other biowaste feedstock. Biodiesels are biodegradable and nontoxic. In addition by recovering energy and recycling waste oils such as this (that would typically be dumped in landfills or put down drains) it helps reduce the clogging of pipes and costly sewer issues that can extend to public sewer lines and wastewater treatment facilities.
Composting
When considering On-Site composting there are several questions that are important such as Space Availability, Staff Resource for separating food scraps from trash and operating the equipment etc; Infrastructure availability whether it is just electrical requirements or sewer considerations; End Use for the finished product; local support and cooperation or obstacles from nearby businesses or residences and approvals from local enforcement agencies. Approvals and permit requirements from local agencies will depend upon the type and volume of food being composted.
The most common methods of on-site composting are In-Vessel Composting; Vermicomposting and Anaerobic Digestion.
In-Vessel Composting
This process involves temperature, moisture and aeration controlled systems where organic materials are fed into the equipment which has mechanism for turning or agitating the material for proper aeration. This type of system can generally process large amounts of waste without taking up too much space and can accommodate almost any type of organic waste (meat, biosolids, food scraps etc). It can also be used year round in almost all climates (including extremely cold weather) since the internal environment is controlled usually by electronic means. The process is fairly quick and can take as little as a few weeks (however for the microbial activity to stabilize into a finished compost it can take several more weeks or months). Available land space, as well as haulers and end users in your area will help you decide which is better for you. Some in-vessel systems are fully automated with sensors to monitor temperature, oxygen, and moisture. They use biofilters to reduce or eliminate odors. This is a good method for institutions with large amounts of compostable materials and limited space.
Vermicomposting
With this process, worms are used to break down the organic materials. Animal products or grease cannot be composted using this method but, when applicable, this process can break down organic materials into high value compost faster than In-Vessel composting.
Anaerobic digestion
This process involves breaking down organics in an oxygen-free environment in order to generate biogas. Biogas is a combination of methane and carbon dioxide. The methane can then be burned for energy. The material remaining should then be composted aerobically. This process produces a valuable soil amendment.
In addition to energy production, another benefit of anaerobic digestion, is that these systems require less space than other large composting methods, which means they are easier to locate in urban areas.
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