New video to inspire action on waste

UNILEVER FOOD Solutions has launched an interactive video wall for operators to share their success and exchange best practice on reducing avoidable food waste.

 

The wall shows how chefs and caterers have used the company’s Wise up on Waste toolkit – a simple waste audit – to cut waste and save money.

 

Ashley Maskel, owner of The Six Bells, for example discusses online how the toolkit helped the business make changes in the kitchen that has cut the vegetable bill by £20 a week and “significantly reduced the amount of food waste coming back on customers’ plates”.

 

Chefs from Prestige Catering, Didcot School and Parc y Scarlets’ Rugby Club are just some of the other case studies currently hosted on the wall.

 

Tracey Rogers, Unilever Food Solutions managing director, said: “Hundreds of chefs and caterers downloaded our Wise up on Waste toolkit, so we wanted to find out what impact it was having on their businesses and the environment. There were some great stories to tell and what better way to shout about our industry’s success than sharing it online to inspire others? It’s important that we keep this issue at the top of our agenda to keep the industry moving in the right direction.”

 

She also called on others to try the free tool kit and send their stories to the campaign.

 

This sharing of best practice will help to cut the millions of tonnes of waste produced by the sector every year.

 

Last year, a report by the Waste and Resources Action Prorgamme (Wrap) found that over 3.4 million tonnes of waste (typically food, glass, paper and card) is produced by hotels, pubs, restaurants and quick service restaurants (QSRs) each year. Of this, 1.6 million tonnes (48 per cent) is recycled, reused or composted, while almost 1.5 million tonnes (43 per cent) is thrown away, mainly to landfill.

 

Wrap recently consulted on a voluntary agreement for the sector, akin to that of the Courtauld Commitment for grocery. The proposals included a 5% cut in food and packaging waste. Wrap also proposed an increase in the amount of food and packaging waste that is recycled, composted or sent to anaerobic digestion from 47% to 70%.