Operators have to follow strict rules when disposing of their food waste, but is there a way to cut costs and reduce waste? Clare Nicholls reports.
Food waste is probably the last thing a hospitality operator wants to talk about. It doesn’t have the frenzy of creating a menu or planning a place, but it’s still vital to any professional kitchen. No brigade wants to work in a waste-filled space with clogged drains, let alone deal with the reputational damage caused by ignoring environmental responsibilities.
Waste management is becoming increasingly important with upcoming changes following the introduction of England’s Environment Act and the implementation of new food waste laws in Wales in April. Sending all food waste down the drain is now prohibited, and facilities must separate their organic waste from curbside collection, which is then processed in an off-site anaerobic digestion facility.
But with tight operators now having to bear the cost of waste collection, options are available to meet legislative requirements and reduce the amount of waste.
Shrewsbury Hospital processed 150kg of waste per hour service with two on-site macerators, but after installing Ecofast’s WasteStation dewatering device, processing time was reduced by 50 minutes per service and waste volume was reduced by 70%. In terms of operating costs, the site reduced its electricity consumption by more than 20 kW/h per day.
Hospital catering manager Ian Stuart says: “We are really impressed with the Ecofast system and service, it works well for our operation.”
Ecofast director Steve Witt believes that other hospitality providers could benefit from the following example: “Reducing the collected food waste can be compensated either by purchasing a machine or by leasing a waste management solution. In some cases with Ecofast customers, we have found that the savings are self-financing.”
In addition, to solve a problem that may render a huge number of existing devices redundant, these devices can be retrofitted with an Ecofast mini dewatering device.
One of the biggest variables affecting a site’s performance is the workforce needed to collect, handle, process and remove food waste from the premises, says David Bentley, Meiko Green’s technical information responsible for Meiko’s waste solutions. He believes that food waste recycling solutions should last a decade or more, so the labor and any additional costs needed must be calculated and calculated to determine which product offers the best life-cycle value.
Bentley claims that the solution that best reduces handling and labor requirements is automated processing of food waste on-site for interim storage in closed containers before collection for biogas conversion at AD.
“On-site processing eliminates secondary processing because no additional labor is required once the waste has been disposed of in the receiving hopper,” he says. “It provides an ideal raw material for AD plants, as it reduces the work of emptying bins, carrying waste out and cleaning bins and rubbish areas inside and out. Staff mobility will be reduced, fewer lorries will need to be on the road and bin costs will be cut, adding thousands of pounds to large waste generators over a decade.
