That’s not very hospitable

It is estimated by WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) that in the UK, the hospitality sector wasted £3bn of food in 2016, with 920,000 tonnes being binned. And binned food in landfill creates methane which is a dangerous greenhouse gas. Addressing this is not only good for the environment, it is good for business as all the staff prep time, gas and electricity also gets thrown away when food is uneaten.

In Bristol, Poco Tapas Bar on Stokes Croft takes a very different approach to food waste with their ‘root to fruit’ ethos, which guides chefs to “cook with the whole ingredient and waste nothing. Don’t peel anything unless it is truly inedible and always cook with the stalks and leaves”.

Poco’s root to fruit ethos to waste nothing includes battered courgette flowers

At Boston Tea Party, designing out waste is core to their operation too. Brand director Anita Atkins says: “The menu is created so dishes use similar ingredients to minimise food waste.” They also tightly monitor wastage to reduce production of items that aren’t selling. They are so committed to tackling waste that Anita is looking at removing the general waste bin altogether by removing and replacing the items that become waste.

For those pre-made items that don’t get sold there are mechanisms for redistribution which Bristol residents can benefit from. City Munch is a food app that can be used for selling off surplus meals or ingredients. Ella Wiles, head of business development suggests that companies “could make up a new menu item to use up ingredients or advertise the ingredients instead of wasting them”.

The Community Fridge coming to St. Pauls in September is a place for cafes to deposit food.

This month, Bristol’s first Community Fridge will be set up at St Paul’s Learning Centre. Not only can local cafes drop off excess food for locals to take away for free, but local stores, households and allotment holders can deposit too. When asked what the difference between a community fridge and a food bank is, Community Fridge coordinator Jacqui Reeves explains: “Unlike food banks where you have to be referred, anyone can go to a community fridge.”

For the real food leftovers, there is no reason for this to end up in the black bin as businesses have plenty of food waste collection options, including the Geneco Bio-Bee, a vehicle run on the gas created from Bristol’s food waste.

The Geneco Bio-bee runs on gas from the food waste it collects

And there is another reason to take action for Bristol’s sake. Bristol Food Network are working on a strategy to be one of the UK’s first Gold Award Sustainable Food Cities (Bristol is already one of the three silver award winners, along with London and Brighton). Tackling food waste and food poverty is integral to this and action by everyone, in both households and businesses, is essential in terms of reduction, redistribution
of surplus and composting.

So, if you are a local hospitality businesses or work in one, there is lots of local inspiration and mechanisms to tackle food waste which will also help you financially. And as consumers, we can also highlight all the options to our local cafes and restaurants, as well as asking for a doggy bag or a takeaway box if we can’t finish our meal.

Hero Image: Poco Tapas Bar

This article is part of a six month series on waste, investigating what is happening at a local and national level and where Bristol businesses and residents can get involved to make a change.

To find out more about what households need to do to tackle the 7.1 million tonnes of food waste visit: b247.staging.proword.press/lifestyle/environment/diners-in-the-bin/

Read about all the schemes redistributing surplus food in Bristol and how you can get involved: b247.staging.proword.press/lifestyle/environment/salvaging-surplus-from-the-supermarket-supply-chain/