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Planetpro: The Leftover Dilemma

October 2, 2020

Despite your planning efforts, there’s usually extra food that you didn’t serve left at the end of the night. What can you do with it to have food reduced wastage?

What can you do with it to reduce kitchen waste?

Save it, Give it away, Move it

SAVE IT	GIVE IT AWAY	MOVE IT

As long as the quality of the food won’t suffer and you have the storage space, you can always store it for future use. Be sure to label the storage container with the contents and date you prepared it.	After the shift, give remaining food away to employees. Give to charity, making arrangements with non-profits like local soup kitchens or food pantries so you can put your food to good use and build goodwill in your community at the same time. Keep records of these donations so you can claim them as tax deductions where allowed by law. Make arrangements with your nearby farms (including your suppliers) to use your scraps for animal feed. Partner with Apps like "Too Good To Go", that proposes to consumers to buy unused foods at a discount.	Mark food down by 1/3 as you near closing time. To draw attention to this option (and potentially build your late-night traffic), advertise the savings on social media and provide coupons.

Composting

Do it yourself

If you have the space and time, turning scraps into compost can be very rewarding while helping you to reduce kitchen wastage. You can find bins online, build your own, or even use a bucket. Here is the basic approach:

Pick a site, indoors or outdoors.
Create a bin.
Layer food waste, dry plant material like leaves or sawdust, and soil.
Add water to keep the pile damp.
Stir the mixture to aerate.
Wait 2-3 months, continuing to aerate and keep the mixture damp.
Use the completed compost in your garden and containers.

Partner with a Provider

If you’re limited on space or have too many scraps, look for an industrial service that will provide bins and haul your compost away for processing.

Follow these guidelines:

COMPOSTABLE	RECYCLE BIN OR TRASH

Fruit and vegetable scraps Meat, bones, fish products Pasta, bread, cereal Cooked foods Pure paper items (E.g. flour and sugar bags) Dairy products, eggshells Items labeled BPI Certified Compostable	Plastic Paper items Styrofoam meat trays Aluminium foil Clam, oyster & mussel shells Candles, synthetic corks & gum Cigarette butts, tobacco Disposable mop sheets Recyclable materials Items labeled Oxo-Biodegradable

COMPOSTABLE

RECYCLE BIN OR TRASH

Fruit and vegetable scraps
Meat, bones, fish products
Pasta, bread, cereal
Cooked foods
Pure paper items (E.g. flour and sugar bags)
Dairy products, eggshells
Items labeled BPI Certified Compostable

Plastic
Paper items
Styrofoam meat trays
Aluminium foil
Clam, oyster & mussel shells
Candles, synthetic corks & gum
Cigarette butts, tobacco
Disposable mop sheets
Recyclable materials
Items labeled Oxo-Biodegradable

Check local sorting facilities and recycling rules on your country. If composting is not possible, give priority to recycling!