According to a recent report by the BBC over $100 billion of food is thrown away every year. Food waste is particularly prevalent in the hospitality industry with cruise ships as well as hotels and restaurants often throwing large amounts of edible food away each week.
In their report the BBC noted how kitchens can throw away up to one fifth of the ingredients they buy. This if often in the form of edible cut offs – for example parts of a vegetable that are too small or the incorrect size for a dish, or in the form of unneeded (fresh) stock which has been bought in but not then ordered by customers.
Due to this high level of wastage in the industry, smart bins have been introduced as a way to try and combat the amount of food being discarded in such places. The bins work by recording the amount of food being thrown away each day. The weight of the food, as well as the type is recorded digitally by employees on a touch screen device located by the bin. This information is then collated and turned into a report which summarises how much of each item is being thrown away and when.
The logs generated can then be used by managers to help reduce the amount of overall waste in the establishment. For example it can help with stock control by showing where less of certain items could be ordered. It can also highlight the amount of trimmings being thrown away and allow other dishes to be created from these in the future to stop large amounts of the food stuff being thrown away. This not only allows extra menu items to be offered but helps reduce waste too.
Acumen is a leading provider of industrial site services and waste management. From our base in Yorkshire we work at sites throughout the country, providing cost-effective, technically robust management solutions. For further information about the services we provide or to talk to someone about a project, please call us today on 0800 118 2165.
