Circular Food Pathways: Turning Waste into Resource
What is Food Waste?
Spoiled Food
Food that is bought in excess and not used before it spoils. This often includes perishable items like fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and meats that go bad because they are not consumed in time.
Examples: Rotten produce, expired dairy, mouldy bread.
Preparation Waste
Food scraps and offcuts generated during the preparation of meals. This type of waste includes parts of food that are removed and discarded during the cooking process.
Examples: Vegetable peels, fruit skins, bones, fat trimmings.
Plate Waste
Food that is served but not eaten, often left on the plate after a meal. This type of waste typically occurs at the consumer level, including restaurants, homes, and cafeterias.
Examples: Half-eaten meals, side dishes left untouched, uneaten portions of meals.
Prepared Food
Food that has been prepared but not served or eaten, which is still safe to consume. This type of waste has the potential to be donated, repurposed, or given a second life.
Examples: Half-eaten meals, side dishes left untouched, uneaten portions of meals.
These categories help identify where food waste occurs, making it easier to implement targeted strategies for reducing waste, redistributing edible food, and managing food resources more efficiently.
Why reducing food waste is important
BBP is here to help your business reduce the amount of food and organic waste that ends up in your bin.
- Methane Gas: Food and organic waste gives of methane gas which is 30 x more potent as a green house gas than carbon dioxide.
- Wet Waste: Food waste is categorised as “wet waste” which is heavier and costs you more in contracted waste fees to take away to the tip.
- Costs: 20% of total waste in Australia is food waste which costs more than $36 billion so how much is your business throwing away.
How BBP will support you to reduce food waste and costs?
Our team of business sustainability experts will help you to identify ways to reduce food waste which is going to waste and costing you money. Working with your staff to find solutions that are going to work in your organisation. Helping to embed new ways of doing things with key stakeholders
Step 1: The Team
Step 2: The TeamTypes of Food Waste
Step 3: Set a baseline
Step 4: Analysis
Go into detective mode: List out by food type what is in each category – is it fresh fruit or vegetables, dairy, meat or seafood, pre-packaged or frozen. As much detail as possible and reason why its now food waste rather than an ingredient. Is this a repeat offender or a once off? Why is there so much of a single type of food that is always sent back on the plate or not eaten? Does it meet the taste and dietary requirements of your clients (whether they be children or older adults?)
Step 5: Solutions
Brainstorm solutions – Your BBP PM will get all the interested stakeholders in a room and facilitate a workshop.
- Whiteboard options for reducing, avoiding or better use of the food waste
- Divide them a 4×4 grid to identify the biggest bang for buck (are they easy to implement /hard to implement/ inexpensive/expensive to implement)
- Shortlist options – there may be more than one project that comes out of this workshop
- Create a RACI – Responsible – Accountable – Consulted – Informed grid and allocate names to each task and project.
Step 6: Approval
Step 7: Implementation
Get started on mini initiatives implementing the easy ones – the “low hanging fruit”. Work out a time line and plan for the larger, more difficult or complex solutions and allocate owners to ensure accountability to keep them on track.
Step 8: Track, Monitor
Step 9: Celebrate Success
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the problem with food waste going into general waste stream? Its easier and cheaper to just to have one bin that everything goes into right?
Register your interest in being a part of this program! Are you:
- A food based business – café, restaurant, take-away food outlet or catering company?
- An educational learning institution with a canteen – from early learning or childcare centre through to tertiary?
- A food court, shopping centre or outdoor market?
- Accommodation or aged care facility
- A leisure based venue – pub, club, sporting or entertainment?
- A business that generates more than 10kg in food / organic waste per week
Proudly funded by
Partner Councils
