A recent study in Loveland, Texas highlights just how much food is left uneaten in K-12 environments. At three local elementary schools it was found that 25% of food goes in the trash. Fruits and vegetables comprise about 50% of this waste.

Usually this is where plate waste studies stop but the Loveland school district took the investigation one step further. Comparative analysis revealed that there was a lot less waste at one of the elementary schools. At this particular school the recess break period occurs before lunch. This simple schedule variation dramatically increases the amount of fruits, vegetables, and milk that are consumed, thereby decreasing food waste.

Food waste can seem like a daunting issue but through tracking, measurement, and analysis it’s possible to identify key trends and devise effective solutions. From simple solutions, like adjusting the schedule, to food waste tracking systems, there are a variety of ways to prevent and minimize food waste.

Trayless dining highlights the impact of a food waste management plan focused on prevention. Even with the increasing prevalence of other food waste management practices, at the end of the day it comes down to the first of the three R’s. Reduction is the place to start.

Source reduction presents numerous environmental and financial benefits that can’t be realized with other food waste management practices, such as composting. One of these is the upstream life cycle impact of food waste. Food has a significant impact on the environment long before it ends up in the trash can. From cultivation to harvesting to cooking, the upstream impacts are significant. Food waste prevention also saves money on disposal costs as pounds are kept out of the waste stream.

Trayless dining is a great example of a post-consumer prevention effort; however this same concept should also be applied to pre-consumer food waste coming from the kitchen and serving line. Automated food waste tracking systems, such as those offered by LeanPath provide a method for establishing a baseline, monitoring and benchmarking progress, and driving source reduction. Pre-consumer food waste tracking allows an operator to diagnose specific issues and change production and purchasing practices accordingly. In addition, tracking enhances employee awareness, which leads to behavior change over time.

With countless advances in the field of sustainability it’s easy to lose site of the low hanging fruit related to source reduction, such as trayless dining or food waste tracking. Yet reduction is the place to start. Post and pre-consumer food waste prevention has tremendous benefits, from the bottom-line to the planet.

The answer depends on who will handle the composting – keep in mind that many commercial composters handle yard waste but cannot or will not accept food. Those that do handle food waste will usually accept all food waste (pre-consumer and post-consumer) as well as plant-based compostable disposables (e.g. items made from plant materials such as corn, potato, cellulose, soy and sugar).

These waste streams should be free from contamination, and any disposable ware should be BPI-certified as compostable. The BPI “Compostable Label” indicates an item meets one of two science-based ASTM standards. To qualify as compostable, the item must break down into carbon dioxide, water and biomass at the same rate as paper. The final product needs to disintegrate to established levels, cannot exceed toxicity limits and must be able to support plant life. Some commercial composters have more stringent requirements than the BPI label, so check your compostable disposable choices with your composting partner to be certain.

Keep in mind: just because an item claims it is “biodegradable” does not mean it is “compostable.”

Resources:

• Biodegradable Products Institute

• Healthcare Without Harm Guide to Bio-based Service Ware

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.

Although this article focused on healthcare (regulated medical waste, preferred purchasing, etc.), they spoke about a Practice Greenhealth study and their efforts to break ‘greening’ down into specific categories.  By doing this it helps the operations to identify the different areas that support and improve the ‘green’ initiatives.

Take a look at your company.  Is sustainability a separate department or part of every department?  Has the responsibility of sustainability fallen on one person as an addition to their ‘regular’ job? The study sites this:

Greening activity is moving beyond grassroots and departmental efforts towards a more coordinated effort and strategy. In fact, 97% of the applicant pool has a green team at their facility and 52% report the activity takes place within the Environment of Care Committee structure. Green teams provide the structure to gather baseline data, set goals, develop metrics, and through a diverse team approach and subcommittees for specific programmatic areas, work together to improve performance.

At LeanPath, we have found that the operations with Green Teams have higher success rates.  More people are involved, there is better ‘buy-in’ from all levels of staff and management, and everyone shares in the success of each accomplishment.  Gathering baseline data and setting goals helps to make everyone aware of the challenges.  We often see shocked faces when we report the actual pounds and dollars of an operations food waste.  The staff knows they aren’t purposely wasting food, but to see the waste in ‘black and white’, printed on a page really brings the challenge into the light.  Setting and achieving goals in a team dynamic also allows you to get many different solutions to one problem.

Another great reason to use a team approach for sustainability is to gather data on the life cycle of a product.  See the example below:

With an increased focus on waste prevention and life cycle analysis, some waste prevention activities are harder to capture. Cleveland Clinic, for example, boasts an over 25% recycling rate, which recently dipped as they conducted life cycle computing and electronics, which reduced the amount of computer “waste” generated altogether. All computers now go back to the manufacturer for refurbish, reuse, and redeployment. So while one may be impressed by hefty recycling rates, waste prevention activities deserve mention and can sometimes get lost in the numbers. This is why total waste generation should be tracked to reflect waste prevention successes.

An important goal for any type of organization: tracking total waste generation to reflect waste prevention successes.  We encourage everyone to work on waste reduction as the first step.  Purchasing less, producing less – leads to less waste.

Practice Greenhealth has just started tracking data this way, but they intend to continue tracking this data.  This long term tracking will help the industry to see how sustainability grows and trends over a long period.   More trend information should be available after the 2010 Environmental Excellence Awards to be presented at CleanMed 2010 in Baltimore Maryland, May 11-13.

Web links:

1. CleanMed: http://www.cleanmed.org
2. Green Guide for Health Care: http://www.gghc.org
3. Global Health and Safety Initiative: http://www.globalhealthsafety.org
4. Health Care Without Harm: http://www.noharm.org
5. Practice Greenhealth: http://www.practicegreenhealth.org
6. The Center for Health Design: http://www.health design.org

Customers Demand More Information. Customers have been clamoring to understand their food better in recent years: Where did it come from? Who grew it? Is it safe? These customers expect transparency around food. This attitude will expand beyond food sourcing into the waste arena. Some customers now ask whether a restaurant composts its food waste and reuses its oil for bio-diesel. They want to know that the waste, which they have helped to create, will be handled responsibly. Expect more questions and expectations of transparency and responsibility around waste handling in the future.

Regulations Exclude Food Waste from Landfills. More municipalities will strive to eliminate organics from landfills due to their greenhouse gas emissions. These regulators will create new requirements that may effectively prevent food waste from going to many landfills. This will force operators and their haulers to develop more diversion alternatives.

Regulations Prevent use of Non-Compostable and Non-Recyclable Disposables. Following the lead of Seattle, regulators may prevent use of non-compostable and non-recyclable disposable packaging.

Waste to Energy Plants. Food waste can be converted to high-value energy by digesting waste and creating methane. Expect to see new digestion plants to digest food waste directly (not from the waste water system) at a commercial scale to produce energy.

Closing Thoughts

The learning required to succeed on the new frontier of waste management may frustrate operators and test their patience at times. Yet the payoff will be large enough to more than justify the investment. There is arguably no more compelling or significant opportunity in foodservice today than working to mange waste more efficiently. This represents a chance to improve the bottom line while making a meaningful difference environmentally. It’s a high-leverage opportunity and deserves the focus and commitment of our industry.

You can access the full article in the December issue of Foodservice Equipment and Supplies Magazine

Article: “Redefining Foodservice Waste Management:  What’s Next.”

Here is excerpt 5 of 5 from the article:

Trend 9:  Taking a Fresh Look at Garbage Disposers

Grinding food waste in a garbage disposer and sending it to a municipal waste water treatment plant is another landfill diversion strategy.   

Since food is already 70% water, this is often feasible and offers the benefit of avoiding hauling costs and emissions.   Many waste water treatment plants digest the food waste, along with other organic matter, and turn it into methane gas (in a sealed system) that is used to generate energy.     This energy helps lower costs at the treatment plant and the remaining bio-solids after the digestion process may be used as fertilizer.    In this example, a garbage disposer would place higher on the waste hierarchy than composting because it is an industrial use that leads to energy generation.

However, this solution may not be available or appropriate for all operators.  Garbage disposers are not allowed in some jurisdictions.  Not all waste water treatment plants have the ability to turn food waste into energy and some, which are overloaded organically, don’t want food waste.   Critics argue that some disposers use too much water and that post-digestion bio-solids may include contaminants.  Still others worry about fats, oils and greases (FOG) in the sewer system but research shows food waste rarely causes FOG build-ups.

The bottom line is that the garbage disposers may be greener than people expect, but it depends on municipal regulations and infrastructure.  Call your local utility for information.

Trend 10: Deploying On-Site Processing Systems

An on-site food waste processing system may be a good alternative if an operator lacks a commercial composting solution and does not want to dispose food waste through a garbage disposer.   There are several options:

• In-vessel composting.  Effective if an operator possesses the labor, space and technical know-how to make it work. 

• On-site aerobic digesters.  These systems use microbes that produce enzymes which digest food waste into a nutrient-rich water effluent within hours.  It’s important to understand the digestion process and discuss it with the municipal sewage authority to ensure the digester effluent will be accepted.

• Waste Dehydrators.  This solution extracts and evaporates water, reducing weight and volume of food waste and leaving a soil amendment as a by-product which is not compost.

You can access the full article in the December issue of Foodservice Equipment and Supplies Magazine

“Redefining Foodservice Waste Management:  What’s Next.”

Here is excerpt 4 of 5 from the article:

Trend 7: Encouraging use of Reusable Serviceware over Disposables

Compostable disposables occupy a prominent position in the current discussion about waste management.   However, source reduction of disposable waste is still a much better solution than compostables if you have on-site diners and warewashing capabilities.  By making every effort to encourage customers to take reusables, operators reduce waste and environmental impact.

It’s very frustrating to witness guests eating in the dining room from disposable to-go vessels when china permanent ware is available nearby.  It’s even more frustrating to see foodservice staff doing the same thing!   As a first step, operators should require all foodservice workers eating on-site to use reusable ware.   Then make disposables scarcer for regular guests and consider imposing a surcharge.  

Trend 8:  Supporting Regional Commercial Composters

Even with extensive efforts to source reduce, there will be waste and it should be diverted away from landfills.   Composting is one of the most common and effective diversion strategies, however, many regions lack access to commercial composting facilities for food waste.   While some operators may compost on-site, this is not a practical solution for most facilities.  Commercial composting facilities offer great value because they master the technical nuances of composting and market the end-product effectively.  More operators will find themselves looking for commercial composting alternatives in 2010 and it’s important they communicate this need to their municipality and garbage hauler.  As operator demand increases, there will be incentives for private enterprise to develop more commercial composting alternatives.

You can access the full article in the December issue of Foodservice Equipment and Supplies Magazine

“Redefining Foodservice Waste Management:  What’s Next.”

Here is excerpt 3 of 5 from the article:

Redefining Foodservice Waste Management: What’s Next

Trend 5: Tracking Food Waste (Again)

Although source reduction is the most valuable approach to food and packaging waste, it’s also the most difficult strategy to visualize. No physical proof appears after a successful source reduction effort, unlike composting or food donation where there is tangible evidence of accomplishment.

The only way to “see” source reduction is to track waste and review the data regularly. Tracking represents the return of a historical practice with deep roots. It was once common for chefs to stand by their garbage cans to monitor inflows and use log books to record waste. Time constraints forced these practices to the margin. But it’s now important enough to revive even if it takes a little extra work. Also, new technology advances in food waste tracking make it feasible to automate what was once a manual process.

By measuring waste continuously, or at least frequently, operators establish a waste baseline and can measure progress over time. This data allows operators to break-down the waste problem into sub-components and set goals to target specific areas and items.

With a feedback loop based on waste data, operators can raise staff awareness, obtain an edge through diagnostic information, and create accountability where none previously existed. All operators know “they manage the things they measure.” This applies to waste as well: once an operator meters waste, the process will begin to drive the systemic and behavioral changes necessary to minimize waste. Source reduction and tracking are two sides of the same coin.

Trend 6: Reporting on Green ROI

Operators often lack the time or tools to develop the business and environmental case for investing in waste management. Fortunately, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently released a new version of its Food Waste Calculator. This easy Excel-based tool helps operators predict waste reduction outcomes based on specific strategies. It also estimates environmental improvements and cost savings.

After launching an initiative and running it for several months, operators should evaluate actual savings. Start by using your waste tracking data (from paper logbooks, Excel, or automated tracking systems) to calculate food costs avoided due to pre-consumer waste reduction. Then use your garbage bills to calculate disposal cost changes for both pre and post-consumer food waste. Add the savings together and monitor changes monthly.

Here is excerpt 2 of 5 from the article:

Trend 3:  More Operators Using New Sustainability Standards to Guide Waste Management Efforts

There are several new third-party sustainability ratings systems available that identify waste management best practices.   Even if an operator has no interest in pursuing a certification, they can use one of these standards as a roadmap to determine opportunities and help set goals.

The first nationally recognized standard is the Green Seal GS-46 Environmental Standard for Restaurants and Foodservices.  It provides a detailed framework for waste management that will apply in whole or in part to most operations.    There are other standards that offer content relevant to specialized foodservices including the Green Guide for Healthcare, the AASHE STARS system for colleges & universities and the APEX standards for catering and convention centers.   

Each of these standards offers downloadable summaries, checklists and background information that allow operators to hit the ground running.

Trend 4:  Understanding and Striving Toward Zero Waste

Foodservice operators will never avoid all waste, but they should prepare to strive for “zero waste”.   This means putting no waste — especially food — in landfills.  “Zero waste” may be accomplished through a combination source reduction and waste diversion (via food recovery, composting or recycling). Source reduction – which is perched at the very top of the hierarchy — offers the highest cost savings potential and dramatically better environmental outcomes than diversion.

Operators occasionally claim they have a “zero waste” operation if they are composting or recycling everything even if they lack of focus on source reduction.  Composting has received considerable attention in recent years despite the fact it ranks near the bottom of the waste management hierarchy.   While composting is vastly preferable to landfill disposal, it should not be viewed as the singular priority antidote to food waste.  To be legitimate, a “zero waste” operation should focus heavily on source reduction and view diversion as a secondary option. 

As the industry focuses more on source reduction, there will also be less tolerance for imprecise claims about “waste reduction.”   Everyone wants to claim they are “reducing waste” but that’s only true if you are preventing or minimizing that waste at the source.  Composting and food donation represent “waste diversion” tactics.   In such cases, waste is being diverted from a landfill for a higher and better use but it has not been reduced. 

You can access the full article in the December issue of Foodservice Equipment and Supplies Magazine

Article: “Redefining Foodservice Waste Management:  What’s Next.”<–>