A Comprehensive Guide for Restaurant Food Waste Management

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Running a restaurant is a frenetic job. From marketing to chalking out recipes, there is n number of operations that needs your attention. In all this hustle the one thing that most restaurant owners forget is food waste management. 

Every day, roughly, 828 million people face extreme levels of food insecurity and sleep on an empty stomach. What’s even more scary is that at the same time, restaurants generate about 22 to 33 billion pounds of food waste annually.

However, the situation is not unavoidable. With a little knowledge of managing food waste in restaurants and a few effective tactics, restaurateurs can avoid this challenge. 

In this blog, we will be discussing the ins and outs of waste management in restaurants and solutions to avoid food waste in restaurants.

Why is waste management important for restaurants?

Managing your restaurant’s waste and reducing food wastage will not only contribute towards a better living but speaking from a business perspective, will cut down your restaurant costs. Cutting down on food waste has also shown to reduce operating costs by more than 30%. 

As decreasing food waste is a big step towards sustainable development, you can market this to eco-conscious customers, especially millennials (Did you know The National Restaurant Association reported that 58% of millennials choose a restaurant that is environmentally conscious?), as your unique selling point. 

Now that you know why it is important to manage your restaurant waste, you need to segregate them. Here’s how.

Types of Restaurant Food Waste

A major part of restaurant waste consists of plastic, paper towels, cardboard and food waste. To recycle and reuse them you need to categorize them first. Here’s an easy way to do so—

• Pre-consumer waste: Just as the name suggests, pre-consumer waste is food wasted before it reaches the customer’s plate. This can happen due to many reasons like burning, overcooking, allergen notes, etc. and it accounts for 4-10% of restaurant food waste.
• Post-consumer waste: This includes the food wasted by customers after ordering and accounts for the larger amount of waste. Typically customers waste 17% of their food ordered. And a majority of it is often left behind at the table.
• Non-food waste: This generally accounts for the non-edible waste generated and consists of plastic waste, containers, cardboard boxes, broken ceramics, etc. 

Non-food waste is mostly unavoidable in restaurants. But you can always invest in eco-friendly straws, paper towels, and biodegradable alternatives to reduce your waste. 

However, the case is not the same with food waste. 

Ways to reduce food waste in restaurants

Here are a few strategies that you can adopt to control your restaurant’s food waste—

• Say ‘NO’ to Overbuying & Overpreparing

Bulk-buying comes with tons of discounts and is very tempting. But the next time you go shopping, step aside and ask yourself, “Do I really need this much?” Food items can be used for one week at a stretch and after that, they have a high risk of spoilage. Have a good idea about the quantity required at your restaurant and shop smart!

• Inspect All Food Items Before Buying

The first and foremost thing you need to do is inspect all the items you buy. Carefully check each item for spoilage because one rotten vegetable or fruit can rot the whole batch. Also, keep an eye on the expiry dates of your dairy and other packaged food items. If the dates are close avoid buying them. 

• Use The ‘FIFO’ Rule 

FIFO — First In First Out rule refers to arranging the food items in your storage rack routinely, keeping the ones you bought before in the front row and the ones new at the back. This way, your food items are arranged according to their expiry dates. This is a smart way to reduce food wastage. To make it easier, you can label them as per dates or invest in inventory management software. 

• Store Food Correctly

A large part of your restaurant’s waste comes just because the food was not stored correctly. Make sure your freezer is set at the right temperature. Cooked food, bases, and similar edible items should not be kept at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Always keep a backup plan for power outages. Other than maintaining the temperature always maintain the hygiene of your kitchen, refrigerator, and storage units. Pathogens and untidy surroundings can lead to the degradation of food.

•  Keep A Stock Inventory 

Another solution to reducing your food waste is keeping track of the items you have in stock. This gives you a clear idea of what you have in stock plus prevents you from buying the food items that you already have. Keeping a detailed list of your stock not only saves you money but also saves food from getting wasted.

• Portion Control

A study in 2012 found that one in four people left a portion of their food at the end of their meal. Meaning the amount of food served was more than the amount they can eat. Restaurants must keep a keen eye on the portion served, it should neither be less nor it should get wasted. 

• Encourage Customers to Take Leftovers Home

Though people tend to take the leftovers home there are some who leave the food behind. Whenever you find a table that has food leftovers, encourage the customers to take it home. This would not only save food but would also save you stress over what to do with the remaining food. 

• Donate Leftovers

The best thing to do with excess or leftover food is to donate it to the people who need them the most. You can tie up with a local food bank or a charity and give away the day’s excess food or the raw ingredients that are left or will expire soon. This would not only save food but would also give you inner peace. The same can be done with stray animals too. 

• Compost Food Waste

Instead of throwing away the food leftovers or vegetable fruit peels in the dustbin, you can start making compost with them. Though it can be a messy process, but it is a wonderful way to go green. You can use it in your kitchen garden and if you don’t have one, you can always give it away to local farmers. This is not only a great way to reduce landfill waste but is also a great marketing policy, millenials are always looking for eateries that practice sustainability and recycling.

• Recycle Vegetable Oil

Another food item that is most often wasted is cooking oil. Don’t drain away the excess oil through the sink as it may clog drains, ruin septic tanks and pollute the environment if dumped the wrong way in landfills. Instead, you can save it up in glass bottles with labels mentioning the food item it was used to prepare. 

• Repurpose Ingredients

Food waste can be avoided, and if not, reduced, with a little addition and substractions. If you find a few ingredients sitting in your stock that will go waste in just a few days then create a ‘Chef’s Special’ dish out of it. There’s nothing wrong in going creative with food scraps. It would not only reduce the food waste going to the landfill but would also stretch your food cost. But keep a note of the expiration dates. In case of expired food throw it away without any second thought. 

• Sell Food At Discount

If you are having edibles that are in excess and know that they won’t sell before their expiration date, sell them right away with an extra discount. In the case of sweets and baked items, you can sell them under ‘A Day’s Old’ tag at half the price. This is a perfect way of reducing food waste and making money. But make sure the items are not rotten or haven’t gone stale. 

• Nose-To-Tail & Root-To-Stem Cooking

Long gone are the days when chefs would use only the chicken breast to prepare a dish or use only the inside of the papaya and throw away the remaining part.  Today chefs are using all parts of food items on different menus as each part has a unique taste and texture. You can even use the fat part of the meat for frying and roasting and the stem part of leafy vegetables in salads.

• Break Your Waste

Every day when you dispose of your waste, make sure to break it into any manner you find comfortable. It can be into wet waste, dry waste, disposables, recyclable and non-recyclable. This is not only a good measure for the environment but would also help you to closely monitor your waste and see which section is constituting the majority of your waste. 

• Offer Staff Meals

If you have cooked meals that will go bad in a day or two offer it to your staff. In this way they will feel a sense of morale towards their workplace and give extra effort at work. Thus saving good food and being a good team player are accomplished in one go. 

• Create A Responsible Team

Last but most importantly, create a responsible team who is aware of food waste and its consequences. No work can be done without the complete assistance of your team. Create a waste management class and make weekly waste audits together with your team. This would help in managing the restaurant waste and also improve your work culture as a whole.