The Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) has responded to the report published on 10 january 2013 by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers – Global Food Waste Not, Want Not – and is calling on restaurants to play their part in reducing the shocking amount of food waste they throw away every year.
UK restaurants throw away 21 tonnes of food every year
The report estimates that 30-50% of all food purchased in developed countries is thrown away by the purchaser, whilst the SRA’s 2010 report Too Good To Waste – based on a waste audit of London restaurants – estimated that the average UK restaurant throws away 21 tonnes of food every year. 30% of that, seven tonnes (equivalent to the weight of a double-decker bus), comes off diners’ plates, with 65% being produced in preparation – peelings, off cuts and anything ruined in cooking.
Mark Linehan, managing director of the SRA, said that the findings by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers came as no surprise but further highlighted the cultural shift required to overcome a serious global problem. He said:
“Consumers often equate value with quantity rather than quality. This results in many restaurants serving unnecessarily large portions and, as with supermarkets’ BOGOF offers, superfluous side dishes that go uneaten. Restaurants need to look at serving smaller portion sizes and need to encourage diners to take home leftovers.”
Too Good To Waste Campaign results
The SRA used the findings of the Too Good To Waste report to inform its 2011 award-winning campaign of the same name to encourage diners to ask for a doggy box and generally raise consumer awareness about the food waste problem. More than 100 London restaurants provided customers with 25,000 doggy boxes.
Another key element of the campaign, and the SRA’s ongoing work to improve restaurants’ sustainability, was to provide chefs with information and advice on how to reduce food waste in the preparation stage.
Rising food prices will help change behaviour
“We would echo the comments of the Institution that the impacts of this problem are social, environmental and economic and in order to reverse the trend there needs to be a change of culture and an increase in training. Consumers, and indeed some restaurateurs, must understand that the days of food being available where and when you want it and in whatever quantity are over. Food is a valuable commodity that we cannot afford to waste,” Linehan added.
“Chefs need to embrace basic housekeeping skills which were second nature to the wartime generation. With rising food prices, the economic imperative will help change behaviour if the environmental argument does not.”