This link will take you to the presentation for “ABC’s of Food Waste Management: Reduction and Diversion“:  http://www.leanpath.com/docs/LeanPath_NRA_ABCs_Food_Waste.pdf

This is the last of the three presentations.

This is an alternative to dealing with food in a solid waste stream (landfill, incineration, composting, high solid anaerobic digestion) and avoids the carbon footprint associated with solid waste hauling, since it uses the sewage system as the transport mechanism.  Not all regions allow disposers or want this organic matter coming to their WWTP for a number of reasons.   However, many do and InSinkErator reports that 70% of the sewage treatment volume in the US runs through a facility with energy production capabilities.

InSinkErator recently developed an animated illustration of the how the waste to energy process works.  Click here to download an .exe file and learn about the mechanics of this approach.  There is also a PowerPoint file which shows the same material but without the animation.

1) Create a written “Food Review Policy” which will be implemented after every meal service. The key aspects of this policy include:

• Bringing all overproduced, unserved food to a central location for review immediately upon conclusion of service
• Ensuring the review is conducted by a culinarian who is fully trained on food safety and HACCP requirements.
• Sort the items and document correctly for HACCP
• Determine an expected use for each retained item
• Communicate the plan

2) Be creative (within safety constraints).  Redirecting extra prepared items might seem like a challenge, but we see breakthroughs all the time. For example, one of our clients has created a café station solely as a venue for secondary uses.  Each day a team reviews saved items and brainstorms ideas to reposition the products.

3) Donate What You Cannot Use. If there is no immediate avenue for a secondary use within the operation, you can donate to a local food rescue organization.  Visit the EPA food scraps site or Food Donation Connection to learn more.

4) Track the leftovers and target future waste prevention. Track the amount of food waste electronically or on paper and use this information to focus staff behavior and minimize future overproduction. Waste prevention is always the ultimate goal.

* That’s an impossible goal, we can’t run out of food! How can we reduce food waste to zero when we have no control over guests and it’s difficult to match production and demand perfectly?

* That’s an easy goal, I’ll just send everything to composting! If you put all your food waste in compost you can legitimately claim that you are sending “zero waste” to the landfill.

The reality is that achieving “true” zero food waste lives somewhere between these two perspectives.

Yes, you are headed in the right direction to become a “Zero Food Waste” operation by composting and sending zero food waste to a landfill. Composting takes effort but it delivers major benefits by reducing methane gas emissions at landfills.

However, even if you compost 100% of your pre and post-consumer food waste, you can’t declare victory and move on. Why not? Because composting is food waste diversion; it is not food waste reduction.

Definition of Zero Waste: to minimize waste, reduce consumption, maximize recycling/diversion and ensure that products are made to be reused, repaired or recycled back into nature or the marketplace. In other words, aiming to eliminate rather than manage waste.

A true “Zero Food Waste” initiative requires that you focus on both reduction and diversion. If you view composting as an excuse for not having a food waste reduction program, you are missing an opportunity and may inadvertently “greenwash” the situation.

So what does a waste reduction program involve? The core element is food waste tracking – daily tracking for pre-consumer food waste and periodically for post-consumer waste. If you can’t measure your food waste, you can’t begin to manage it. Once you start tracking food waste, you have the ability to focus employees and guests on the issue, diagnose problems and set goals for improvement.

So, is Zero Food Waste possible? Absolutely. Provided you are focusing on source reduction (through food waste tracking) and have a full composting program for pre and post-consumer food waste.

More Information:

Food Waste Tracking Systems: Visit www.leanpath.com

Composting Information: Visit www.findacomposter.com

Excerpt from LeanPath’s Food Waste Flyer Vol. 6   http://www.leanpath.com/lpweb/newsletter_vol_6.htm

Here at LeanPath, we talk about Food Waste Reduction on a regular basis.  Reducing food waste through tracking, goal setting and monitoring.  We give hints and tips about best practices from the many hospitals, colleges and corporate clients we deal with on a regular basis.  We love to hear when other groups are practicing food waste reduction on their own.

Check out this article about ARAMARK Higher Education and their contest with the University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) and Southern Methodist University (SMU).  http://ow.ly/1qv4z

ARAMARK Higher Ed is hosting the semester long “Weigh the Waste” contest between the two universities.  The goal is to have the least amount of food waste per student over the semester.  They are looking to reduce POST-consumer waste, which is a problem in colleges and universities.

It’s great that a contest like this is happening.  Kudos to the people responsible:  Green Society presidents, student sustainability managers, the on-site food service managers and the contract food service companies, especially all the students involved.  A little bit of work, by many people, equals HUGE impact.

LeanPath has been in contact with a class from East Academy in Tennessee.  A group of kids there have started a food waste study of their own, as part of a school project.  They recently asked us for sample reports about the kinds of waste a typical foodservice operation produces.  I hope they aren’t too shocked by the information!  Like a typical large hospital can throw out $300 of ‘overproduced’ eggs each week.  Also, a typical university dining hall can toss out about 2,000 pounds of food per week.  That’s just pre-consumer waste, not tray waste.

I felt this was also an excellent example of teaching kids about food waste.  Read this blog snipet from http://fruitguys.com:

I’m a chaperone on my son’s 3-day, 5th grade outdoor education trip. We’re on a bus heading back from a camp in Santa Cruz…when a 5th grade girl in front of me leans around…“Wha-cha-do-in?” she chimes…She takes a bite of apple. She’s eaten it from the top – core and all. “I’m part of the hard-core-apple-club” she beams. “Red Tail showed me how.” Red Tail was the nature name for the camp counselor who led the garbology exercise. After each meal the kids scraped leftovers onto a scale and weighed them. Then they talked about how what remained affected the energy cycle. I also really appreciated the cabin rules my student group laid down such as “no using big words” and “absolutely no gambling,” but it was the garbology experiment that really caught my attention.

In three days our group of 60 kids went from producing 9 pounds of leftover food at the end of their meals to 3 pounds. A pretty good change just because they were conscious of it. Taking what you need and not more is a good lesson for kids (and adults). What I really liked about the experiment was that it taught conservation and in my book—whether you’re a business owner looking for efficiencies, a farmer hoping to reduce waste and increase yield, an individual looking to lessen your carbon or energy footprint, or a city looking to reduce waste—conservation is an important lifelong lesson that has only positive implications for everyone. No doubt that good habits start young but we all can create new habits at any age. – blog by:  Chris Mittelstaedt chris@fruitguys.com

Both groups are learning the importance of conservation.  Being aware of your food choices and the food waste you produce.  Great lessons to teach the next generation.

Check out these TWO webinars provided by SFM:

Project Management for Green Initiatives

Wednesday, February 17, 2010, 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. EST

http://www.sfm-online.org/Women_Council_LeadershipLink_Webinar.htm

(Added Benefit: Includes two Planning Exercises: Composting and Energy Efficiency)

“Have you been asked recently, to create and implement a sustainability initiative for your company or client and had little idea about where to begin? Sometimes initiating a new program can seem overwhelming, particularly when it is an add-on to your regular responsibilities. Where do you begin, whose buy-in do you need, when do you follow-up, how do you monitor and define success?

If you are one of the many people who have asked these questions, this upcoming webinar will have timely, useful information for you. It will give you an outline and step-by-step training on Project Planning.”

Redefining Foodservice Waste Management: What’s Next?

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

3 p.m. – 4 p.m. EST

http://www.sfm-online.org/Program_Committee_Webinar.htm

“With these challenging economic times – and in a society increasingly focused on sustainability – it’s no longer advisable for food service operators to treat waste as a peripheral concern. We spend massive dollars to purchase food and supplies that become waste and our discards makes a huge, negative impact on both our financial results and the environment. Cutting waste makes sense – and it also happens to be one of the least painful places to remove costs, avoiding the negative shockwaves of staff reductions or menu changes.

For these reasons, operators should be making waste management one of their top priorities. This starts by redefining their mental model to recognize waste management is not about garbage – it’s about reforming inefficient policies, procedures, and behaviors that lead to many types of waste.”

Check out these FIVE webinars provided by the EPA:

Food waste is the third largest stream of waste in the U.S. after paper and yard waste. The social, economic, and environmental impacts of food waste are enormous, including increased generation of greenhouse gas, negative impacts on sanitation and health, and the loss of potential improvements in soil health and food production. To help address these impacts, EPA Region 2 is partnering with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Solid Waste Resource Renewal Group at Rutgers University to offer a series of webinars designed to provide education on the best avenues and methods of food waste management. Generators of food waste, government representatives, and public stakeholders are encouraged to participate.

February 23

Overview of Food Waste, Climate Change Connection, and Waste Audits

March 10

Separation and Collection of Food Waste

March 17

Waste Reduction through Reuse

March 31

Composting and End-of-Life Management

April 7

Putting the Pieces Together and EPA Tools

For registration and information on the webinars above, please visit: www.trainex.org/FoodWaste

The folks at Waste Aware Scotland have created an i-phone app that helps the home consumer learn how to reduce food waste.

“The app provides consumers with easy to use interactive tools such as a portion size planner; recipe finder for leftover ingredients; weekly meal planner and various hints and tips on how to reduce food waste. The app asks users to put their ingredients into an on-screen blender, (these could be leftovers or ingredients they already have but are not sure how to make into a meal) then simply shake it to create an easy, healthy recipe.”

We tried the blender on our i-phone in the office – very fun!

The idea is to carry this information with you when you go to the grocery store. Using that shopping list with a meal planner helps you to only buy what you need and in the portions required for each meal.  Thus avoiding waste.  No more extra vegetables, or moldy bread that was never used.  One function of the app allows you to select the number of adults and children for each meal. The planner adjusts food quantities – 500 grams of chicken, 6 broccoli florets, etc.   Very helpful when you are in a hurry.

Here is the link for the iPhone App: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/love-food-hate-waste/id348154861?mt=8

The website; www.wasteawarelovefood.org.uk, like the app, now has a handy portion planning tool and recipe finder for leftover ingredients.  So you can plan your meals and portions from home and take a printed list with you.

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On a similar, but separate note:  if you are involved with foodservice on a larger scale – hospital, university, or corporate dining the app mentioned above will be too small for your needs.  Commercial food productions systems like C-board, Computrition and VST will do the same things, but give you a greatly enhanced experience with menu planning, portion control/cost and even inventory sheets.  Proper purchasing and portion control will help to reduce food waste.

To further identify waste reduction opportunities, you can use a waste tracking system. Either automated (like LeanPath) or manual (paper tracking) will give you the ability to ‘see’ all food items that are being thrown out.  Review your tracking reports periodically to identify goals and monitor progress.

But what do you do with food that can’t be reduced any farther?  Well, in order from best to least desirable, first feed people (donate to a local food bank), then feed animals (pig farms, etc.).  The next step is Industrial uses.  We have all heard that used oils (fryer, vegetable, etc.) can be made into bio-diesel.  That’s an excellent reuse of a product that would otherwise go to a landfill.  But what if you don’t have the ability to convert used oil into bio-diesel?  If you are like a few students at the University of Florida – you turn it into soap.

They have a bio-diesel plant but it’s not running right now.  What do they do with all of this oil?  Send it to the landfill?  No, they thought of an alternate use – and might even turn a profit.

This soap is made from glycerin which is part of the bio-diesel process.  They color it with the team colors and scent it with essential oils (like orange).  It is then sold with their logo or in the shape of a gator.  A great, alternate idea to a very regular problem.

Check out the entire article at: http://www.gainesville.com/article/20091219/ARTICLES/912199979/1002?p=1&tc=pg

This is a great example of how a little thinking and entrepreneurship can help solve an unexpected problem.  If you plan a green initiative and something falls through – don’t give up!  Perhaps a little problem solving will give you an even better solution.

Catering orders typically increase during the holiday season, making this the perfect time to focus on reducing catering food waste. Changes you make now will benefit your operation year-round, especially as catering growth returns in 2010. Whether you offer buffet, banquet, off-premise, or drop-off services, you have a big opportunity to save food cost by reducing pre-consumer food waste.  We will post 5 tips on reducing Catering Waste over the next few days.

2. Adjust Production “Pad” Factors by Tracking Overproduction Waste. Many operations use a standard percentage “pad” factor in every order. When unexpected guests show-up this calms the nerves of your production staff. But are you using the most accurate factor? Should it be 3%? 5%? To find out, track your overproduction by item.  For example, track how many extra portions of steak or fish are left; how many pans of potatoes; how many deserts?  Ask staff to write this down at each event (download a tracking sheet) and then you can assign a dollar value to each wasted amount. Build a spreadsheet and determine whether you could reduce your production “pad” factor from 5% to 4% and still meet demand. Try the new “pad” level and monitor results.

Check out the full issue of the LeanPath newsletter: Food Waste Flyer – Volume 5