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Pubs ‘Should Tackle Food Waste’


UK pubs generate a vast amount of food waste every year. In fact, it costs the industry an estimated £357 million and generates CO2 emissions equivalent to 600,000 cars.

 

Morning Advertiser shared these figures from the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), as well as speaking to Andrew Stephen, CEO of the Sustainable Restaurants Association (SRA).

 

He tried to quantify the scale of the problem, explaining that the amount of food wasted in the country’s pubs alone could fill 13,675 double-decker buses.

 

Mr Stephen added: “For every meal served in a UK restaurant or pub nearly half a kilo of food is wasted through spoilage (21 per cent), prep (45 per cent) or plate waste (34 per cent).”

 

Research by the SRA found that bread, salad and potatoes are the most wasted items, because these are often served “in quantity without the customer actively ordering them”.

 

So what is the solution? Martin Venus, head of sales at catering solution provider Imperial Machine Company, says that food waste needs to be managed at source. One thing that pubs and restaurants should use is a dewatering unit because this can help keep fats, oil and grease (FOG) out of plumbing.

 

Mr Venus pointed out that if food waste is being sent for anaerobic digestion then it “can be a very valuable resource”, particularly if it includes FOG.

 

Last month, figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) revealed that 8.7 per cent more food waste in England was sent for anaerobic digestion last year than in the previous 12 months.

 

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