With one million tonnes of food waste discarded in the Republic of Ireland every year, it is an area that requires a lot of attention, says Environmental Consultant Researcher Colum Gibson.
Colum Gibson works at the Clean Technology Centre (CTC) at the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT), a notfor- profit environmental organisation which focuses on waste prevention. For the last 15 years he has been working with businesses and households to tackle the issue of food waste, which he admits is a busy field.
“We run different projects for households and businesses. When working with businesses we look at waste water and energy use. Part of our work involves waste surveys where we go through bins to find out what’s in mixed and recyclable waste, and we also identify where the food waste is being generated. We then provide a report to the participating business so they can reduce costs. The key thing is that we’re always looking at the prevention angle.”
The reason this topic is so important is that food waste has a major impact on the environment, contributing to pollution, a shortage of resources and land wastage. Colum warns: “We have a very good waste management system in the Republic of Ireland – our waste disappears and we forget about it quite quickly – but when you’re dealing with it first hand and you see a lot of stuff that really shouldn’t be thrown out, or could be managed in a different way, it’s hard not to get charged up about it.
“Food waste is a local problem but it’s also a global problem. We are part of a global food system so if we end up using and wasting a lot of food here, that will have an impact in other countries.”
Cutting back on food waste also has financial advantages: “We’re looking at it from an environmental perspective, but from the perspective of a business, or householder for that matter, the benefit is financial. The average cost estimate for a household wasting food equates to about €700 per year. It’s not that people are throwing out a full slice pan but if you throw out a slice of bread, that’s worth about eight or ten cent. You throw out ten of those and that’s a euro. Things start totting up. In terms of businesses, we estimate that every kilo of food waste thrown out costs between two and five euros. That’s not just disposable costs – it’s the cost of purchasing, storing, serving and disposing, so there is a huge cost implication.
He adds: “There’s the time aspect as well. If you can be more efficient, it will take less time in the kitchen and there will be less waste to handle. It can also be promoted to customers. The Minister for the Environment, Denis Naughten, recently signed a Food Waste Charter which means that food waste needs to be reduced by 2030, so both he and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are encouraging businesses, communities, organisations and individuals to take one action this year to try to reduce food waste.”
Before individuals and businesses can adopt preventative measures, however, research is needed. CIT are currently involved in a project aimed solely at commercial food wastage: “We’re trying to identify what exactly is happening in a variety of different types of businesses. Say a restaurant serves 100 people and, at the end of the day, they have a pile of food waste, we’re asking where that’s coming from – is it preparation, plate-scraping (leftovers from customers), prepared food that was never sold or poor stock control? We’re breaking down the food waste that comes out of businesses into these four categories and we’re hoping to get a broad picture of what is happening within the sector, whilst drilling down into the core reasons as to why certain places generate more food waste than others.
“Take portion control for example. We go into restaurants and highlight that there’s a lot of plate waste coming back; the portions are too big. We’re not saying they should change their ethos but they could change the way they serve; they could give smaller portions at the start and then offer people more at the end of their meal. T his means less plate waste and the service is better because the customer will like being offered more.”
The research has revealed other ways in which businesses can reduce food wastage. Colum explains: “Tackling food waste is individual to each business but one of the things that we’d often come across would be in delis where you have coleslaw tubs, and a lot of the time the stuff at the bottom is thrown in the bin because it’s been out all day. Having shallower dishes and topping them up throughout the day is a way of controlling that stock.
“Another example would be a restaurant that makes its own homemade bread and used to put a basket of bread on the table. The first thing that happens is the customer would eat it all. What this restaurant has started doing, after realising that there was more food wastage coming back than there should have been, is to now offer bread at the start of the meal. They offer another bit during the starter and, if somebody wants it, at the main course again. Because people aren’t overloading on bread, there’s less food waste coming back and customers now eat more desserts. They’re also throwing out less bread and probably producing less bread. It’s the combination of thinking about the food waste and the serving process that has helped the restaurant substantially reduce their food waste. Of course, there will always be some food waste – we can’t beat ourselves up about that – but I think the challenge is to always try to reduce it.”
As for new businesses, the issue should be at the forefront from the beginning, Colum advises. “By and large, space isn’t allocated when people are designing kitchens or food businesses. However, good bin positioning is vital because if you’re busy and the first bin you see is a mixed bin, it’s likely that everything will go into it. If you’re trying to segregate food waste properly and gather information on how much food waste you’re generating, you need bins in the proper strategic positions. Then, once a business is gathering proper information on their food waste they can track how they’re performing and set improvement targets.”
However, it’s not all about the businesses as Colum acknowledges: “I think businesses probably need to become more actively involved but we also have to educate the public. I think it’s really important for consumers to realise that there is a huge onus on these businesses not only to produce the food but to reduce their food.”
Another important EPA project Colum is involved in is the STOP Food Waste programme which helps householders reduce their food waste. “I manage a team of six people around the country who work on different community based projects trying to help householders reduce food waste. A big part of this is home composting. People that compost tend to generate less food waste because, as soon as you start managing your own food waste, you become more aware of it and this is a great motivator to reduce it. That’s why the roll-out of brown food waste bins is really important too.”
About Colum
Hobbies/Interests: I love to surf and I used to golf when my kids didn’t interfere with my time. I also enjoy cycling to work and giving out to other road users.
Favourite Food: My favourite dish to cook (not my favourite food) is peas and pasta. You cook frozen peas with some olive oil and garlic. You cook your pasta, mix the two and add a bit of parmesan. It’s simple and delicious.
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