Hospitality sector agreement launched to cut waste

A new voluntary agreement which could save the hospitality sector 76 million by the end of 2015 through waste reduction and recycling has been launched today (June 26) by WRAP.

More than 60 restaurants, hotels, industry bodies and government departments have signed up to the Hospitality and Food Service Agreement. They have committed to cut food and associated packaging waste by 5% by 2015 while increasing the overall amount of food and packaging being recycled or composted to 70%.

The producer responsibility deal covers businesses such as pubs, restaurants, hotels, and fast-food outlets in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

So far, 68 organisations have signed up including: consumer goods giant Unilever; pub retailer and brewer Greene King; baker Greggs, Dominos Pizza and fast food outlet McDonalds.

The agreement is also supported by a number of government departments including the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and, the Scottish and Welsh governments.

The possibility of a voluntary producer responsibility agreement for the hospitality sector was first announced by the government in the 2011 Waste Review (see letsrecycle.com story).

‘Win-win’

Speaking today, recycling minister Lord Taylor described the agreement as a win-win for all involved.

He said: This new agreement shows these household names are committed to stopping this terrible waste of food.By taking additional steps to reduce the amount of food waste these businesses and organisations will stop the equivalent of 100 million wasted meals going to the bin and save themselves money a win-win for everyone.

Opportunity

Explaining the reasoning behind the agreement, Richard Swannell, design and waste prevention director at WRAP, told letsrecycle.com: There are a number of reasons for the voluntary agreement. First of all we have produced some research on the amount of waste being produced by the hospitality sector which showed that there was a significant opportunity to reduce waste and increase recycling.

For example when we looked at the total amount of food wasteproduced in the UKwe estimated there was 15 million tonnes. The households dominate this with 7.2 million tonnes, then the supply chain which is covered by the Courtauld agreement and then the hospitality sector so obviously it was the next step to reducing food waste. And its bang in line with all of the governments’ policies in this area.

Mr Swannell explained that the agreement was about driving waste prevention and environmental savings, including an increase in recycling and a reduction in carbon emissions.

Targets

WRAP said that if a quarter of the hospitality sector signs up to the agreement signatories can expect to save up to 76 million by 2015.

Mr Swannellclaimed the savings would be achieved through the reduced cost of disposal and increase in recycling. He added that he was optimistic about achieving this level of sign up.

WRAP will now work in partnership with the signatories to help them meet the targets through online tools, workshops, working groups and expert advice.

Mr Swannell said: I think, as with every voluntary agreement, we have worked hard with the industry and government to come up with targets that are challenging but deliverable but also bring real benefits to the signatories and the environment. We need to make sure we have something that is challenging but not so ambitious that no one will be able to achieve it.

Signatories

Organisations that opt to sign up to the agreement either join as business signatories or supporters, depending on their role within the sector, with signatories reporting directly against the two main targets. Supporters include companies that work within the sector but do not deliver the meal to the customer for example a packaging manufacturers and trade associations. Of the 68 organisations signed up to the agreement, 27 are signatories and 41 are supporters.

Liz Goodwin, chief executive at WRAP, said: Tackling food waste brings significant financial and environmental benefits, as already demonstrated through our work on household food waste and within the Courtauld Commitment. I am therefore delighted that so many organisations have signed up already to the Hospitality and Food Service Agreement, and we continue to urge businesses, large and small, to sign up.

Wales

John Griffiths, the Welsh environment minister, added: The Welsh hospitality and food service industry has already done a lot to reduce its waste and recycle more, and I want to acknowledge its good work. This UK-wide agreement will help more businesses prevent waste, manage unavoidable waste sustainably and save money, in line with the ambitions set out in our Towards Zero Waste strategy and draft Food Manufacture, Service and Retail sector plan.

The agreement will be overseen by a steering group which will include signatories and supporters who will have responsibility for providing input into the voluntary agreement, reviewing progress against the targets and sharing good practice.