Environmental Issues within the Catering Industry

Looking after the environment is really important to help prevent global warming. The hospitality and catering industry has a part to play in this, by reducing the amount of waste it produces and by recycling as much as possible.

In catering there are three ‘Rs’ that relate to looking after the environment. Reduce Reuse Recycle

Reduce Hotels can reduce the amount of waste within the kitchen by: Using products with less packaging Sending waste to local farmers, for animal feed Buying foods in bulk Recycling glass, tins, cardboard and paper

Reduce Restaurants can reduce waste at breakfast time (and save money) by: Running a buffet style breakfast (that way people will only take what they like and fewer members of staff will be needed.) By putting condiments such as jam in dishes rather providing individual ones (which cost more and produce more waste)

Packaging Packaging Advantages Disadvantages Paper and card Easily printed Can be recycled Strong when dry lightweight Crushes easily Weak when wet Recycled paper and card cannot be used for food Glass Strong Reusable Recyclable Can carry liquids Brittle Easily broken Metal Rigid Must be coated inside or reacts with food Cannot microwave Uses valuable energy to extract from ground Plastic and polystyrene Flexible Does not react with food Causes litter problems Limited resources Not easily recycled

Take-away food establishments These in particular use a lot of packaging. Pizzas are sold in corrugated card boxes Sandwiches are often sold in clear plastic boxes Many Indian and Chinese foods are sold in plastic containers or foil containers with card lids Burgers are sold in polystyrene cartons

Food manufacturers are trying to reduce the amount of packaging used for food products. Customers are encouraged to reuse and recycle food packaging whenever possible

The hospitality and catering industry can do their part in helping to reduce waste produced by themselves and their customers. By putting signs around the establishment encouraging customers to help reduce waste they will in turn gain a good reputation, as they are trying to help the environment