Why Restaurant Kitchen Waste Has to Stop
If you have ever worked in a restaurant, you have probably witnessed the overwhelming amount of waste that sometimes seems inevitable.
But, here’s the thing. It doesn’t have to end up as true “waste” in a landfill. It can be turned into something valuable while also dramatically reducing the environmental impact of that waste.
Let’s pause for a quick science refresher.
Greenhouse gases have different capabilities of holding heat in the atmosphere. Global Warming Potential (GWP) is a measure of how much energy the emissions of ton of a gas will absorb over a certain period of time (usually 100 years), relative to the emissions of one ton of carbon dioxide (CO2).
While CO2 gets the most attention as our star of the greenhouse gases, Methane (CH4) is more harmful with a GWP of 28-36 because it remains in the atmosphere for a shorter amount of time, but it absorbs more energy. Nitrous Oxide’s (N2O) GWP is even worse, coming in at an impressive 265-298 times that of CO2 in the same time period (Nitrous oxide is emitted during agricultural and industrial activities, combustion of fossil fuels and solid waste, as well as during treatment of wastewater).
The gas produced in landfills is made up of approximately equal parts CO2
and CH4. The ratio depends on how much oxygen is present in the landfill. When organic material decomposes in the presence of oxygen (aerobically), it mainly produces CO2, but if it decomposes in the absence of oxygen (anaerobically), CH4 is produced.
Some landfills have a methane capture system, but food often decomposes faster than other materials. That means the CH4 is being released before the gas collection process occurs, so it just ends up in the atmosphere. A lot of food waste is also tucked under other waste, creating an air vacuum that forces the food to decompose anaerobically, producing CH4.
Now that we’re done with the science background, let’s get back to the restaurant part.
Organic waste like food scraps and napkins are estimated to comprise 70% of all the waste in a commercial kitchen.
ALL, yes ALL of that organic waste can be diverted from landfills through composting.
Composting allows the material to decompose naturally in the presence of oxygen, minimizing the harm of the greenhouses gases produced.
The U.S. currently spends more than $218 billion on the growing, processing, transporting and disposal if uneaten food waste.
The restaurant sector in the U.S. alone accounts for 11.4 million tons of our national food waste.
More restaurants than ever are beginning to care about their impacts, mostly driven by consumer demand (Yes, I’m talking about you! Good work.).
While 72% report buying some type of recycled material for their packaging and supplies, only 30% purchase at least some compostable products.
I would say there’s still a lot of room for improvement. Lots of restaurants use compostable materials but don’t actually compost them.
My contact at CompostNow told me that the single most important change a restaurant can make to reduce its environmental impact isn’t recycling or cutting out straws (although you should definitely do those too!).
It’s composting food waste in the “back of the house” (restaurant speak for kitchen).
Remember how I said 70% of industrial kitchen waste is compostable?
If every restaurant composted its food waste, imagine how much waste we could divert from landfills to prevent the production of more CH4.
It’s up to us to spread the news and make a difference where it can really count.
So, get out there, and talk to restaurant owners and managers to see which restaurants are composting their kitchen waste.
You might be happily surprised that they’re already doing it, or your question could spark the thought in someone’s mind. At the very least, they will know that customers care, and if enough people do it, that can quickly yield results.
Happy restaurant composting!
S.