Tackling Food Waste: All You Need to Know

 

Food waste is a massive problem, and can have major impacts on the world around us! Discover more about food waste, here, and how your company can tackle it.

Every year, an average UK household wastes the equivalent of eight meals per week - that’s 5 million tonnes of food that could have otherwise been eaten! When we compare this to some more sizable items, that’s the equivalent of 40 million wheelie bins, nine Wembley stadiums, and 4,000 olympic pools!

This just goes to show that the food waste problem in the world is something that must be tackled. But where can we make a start?

To find out, from the experts, how to tackle food waste and other environmental issues, get your FREE tickets to the Leisure F&B Expo. Meet the industry experts, all under one roof, and learn how you can reduce waste, and costs, so you can increase your profits!

Food Waste Facts

The food waste problem is ever-growing, and can cause major problems. Most notably, when food waste ends up in landfills, it can produce methane gas in large quantities. This is known for its contribution to greenhouse gases and, thus, the breakdown of the ozone layer.

To add to this, food waste actually leads to economic losses, as money is pretty much thrown away. In the grand scheme of things, the food that ends up in the bin wastes around one quarter of the overall water needed within the agricultural sector!

Food Waste Solutions

Food waste is a pretty natural part of the food and beverage sector, as there are just so many elements of food which can’t be consumed. It’s no wonder why so much of it is thrown away.

That said, there are already some amazing ways that the problem is being tackled. For example, in 2018, 133 million meals were redistributed through charities, to ensure disadvantaged people could be fed (read more about this here). That said, you may be wondering how to reduce food waste in your own company. Well, there are some pretty simple ways…

A food waste bin is the number one way to reduce the problems of food waste. It may seem obvious but, every year, 18 million tonnes of food waste ends up in landfills in the UK. As we’ve already seen, that’s a major problem, so disposing of food waste properly, allowing it to turn into compost, is the best way to dispose of it.

On another vein, one of the best ways to tackle the methane gas produced by food waste in landfill is anaerobic digestion. This can occur in a sealed, oxygen-free tank, where biodegradable material can be broken down to form biogas or fertiliser. This is a great alternative to recycle the food waste, as this can even be generated into clean energy!

What are Supermarkets Doing to Cut Back on Food Waste

Big companies are one of our best solutions to this problem. In fact, before produce even reaches supermarkets, around £1 billion worth gets wasted, as it doesn’t meet the rigorous standards of these chains!

Now, though, the tables have turned for the better, as the likes of Waitrose, Tesco, Unilever, and Marks & Spencer are some of the companies who have pledged to cut their food waste in half by 2030! Their plans involve working with farmers to reduce waste from growth to sale, and to ensure the food produced meets the quantities required at the shops.

Meet the People Who Can Help You Get Started With Tackling Food Waste, and Other Environmental Issues

Tackling food waste is not the only way you can improve your environmental footprint. Saving water and energy are amongst the many ways our exhibitors can help you.

The Leisure F&B Expo will run alongside three other complementary shows who can help you in these ways - the Holiday Park & Resort Innovation Show, the Family Attraction Expo, and the Farm Business Innovation Show. Each of these shows will be welcoming a number of companies who can help you with tackling the environmental issues facing the food and beverage sector. These include:

• Get rid of food waste, and other forms of waste, through the help of Managed Waste Solutions, who are completely dedicated to disposing of all waste in environmentally-friendly ways!


• Some fantastic renewable energy companies, who could help you to reduce your environmental impact, include Energy Solutions Ltd., FuturEnergy Ltd., Solaris Energy Ltd., and Global Energy Systems.


• Save water when growing produce, with Amberol Limited, and send waste water to other businesses, through Affinity for Business.

Tackling Food Waste Has Never Been Easier…

Inspired with new ways to hop on the sustainability train? Then we have more inspiration where that came from, with your FREE tickets to the Leisure F&B Expo!

Not only can you get inspired with new ways to improve your footprint, but you can learn about all the other latest food and drink trends, and how to harness them. Discover all the ways you can boost your company, through food and beverage, on 6th & 7th November at the NEC, Birmingham. We can’t wait to see you there!