Restaurants and Cafes: How to Start Recycling Food Waste
If you operate a restaurant or cafe, you may not have considered the benefits of recycling food waste. Recycling food waste can help to reduce the impact your business is having on climate change. When food is buried in a landfill site, it releases methane and carbon dioxide, which will eventually find its way into the atmosphere. However, by signing up with a food waste recycling company, you can stop this happening. A food recycling company will transport food waste away to a facility where it is composted. The gas released as the food breaks down is captured and used to create energy. Read on to find out more about how you can set up food waste recycling at your business.
Educate your staff
The first thing you will need to do is to educate your staff. After years of clearing plates by scraping the leftovers into a garbage bin, it may take a bit of time for your staff to adjust to a new routine. During a team meeting, it is a good idea to discuss the implementation of food waste recycling within your business. By having a discussion about the benefits of recycling food waste, you can include your staff in the decision, allowing them to feel some sense of ownership of the policy. It is also a good idea to position posters or signs around the food preparation areas reminding your staff to place any food waste in the bins provided.
Invest in secure bin storage areas
Any food waste will need to be stored until it can be collected by the recycling company. You should never leave food waste in unsecured bins. If you do so, it is likely that rodents and other pests will attempt to gain access to your food bins so they can scavenge food. This can result in food waste being scattered across the parking lot and pavement in front of your business, which can be very off-putting to customers. The company which collects your food waste should be able to provide you with secure food waste bins which lock firmly shut. This will prevent pests from gaining access to the food waste. You should also train staff to ensure that the bins are locked each time food waste is deposited in them.
If you are interested in finding out more about food waste recycling, you should get in touch with a local company today.