A recent article in LeanPath explains the many hidden costs to foodservice operators of wasted food. In addition to the cost of the ingredients, there is also the energy and water to store and prepare the food, the labor to prepare it, the disposal costs to get rid of it, and the “cost” of lost…
The National Restaurant Association Show in May featured a number of products to help restaurants reduce food waste. These included everything from equipment to automatically capture grease from sinks and dishwashers to compostable birchwood utensils and wheat straw containers. RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts assists businesses and institutions with recycling and food waste reduction through composting and food donation.…
A report by the Green Sports Alliance (GSA) and Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) features 20 professional sports venues across North America that are implementing more sustainable food service and disposal practices. Many of these venues have programs to donate or compost excess food. The report includes tips for starting composting programs at sports venues.…
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) recently announced $1.1 million in funding for three projects that will convert organic materials into energy. The awards will support the development of anaerobic digestion facilities in Bourne, Freetown and Hadley. Harvest Power, Bourne, MA: $400,000 to design and build an anaerobic digester for processing wastewater treatment sludge, food waste, fats,…
This Berkshire Eagle article tells the story of seven restaurants and one market in Lenox that have combined forces to compost their food scraps. Alta, Church Street Cafe, Frankie’s Ristorante Italiano, The Old Heritage Tavern, Table Six, Firefly, Spoon and Lenox Natural Foods have contracted with Empire Zero Waste to bring their uneaten and leftover…
A revised version of a guide to On-Site Systems for Managing Food Waste, compiled by RecyclingWorks, is now available on our website on the “Options for Complying with the Commercial Organics Waste Ban” page. This comprehensive, 88-page guide includes information about cost-effective ways to comply with the Massachusetts Commercial Organics Waste Ban on-site, such as…
This article from the Professional Convention Management Association provides tips for reducing the amount of leftover food at meetings, including knowing how many people will attend, working with your caterer to determine a proper amount of food to serve, and keeping some food safely stored so that it can be donated if it is uneaten.…
A Boston Magazine article recently highlighted the work of Food For Free, a Cambridge-based non-profit, collects unused food from farmers’ markets, grocery stores, bakeries, and universities and donates it to food pantries, schools, and individuals in need of healthy food. Sasha Purpura, executive director of Food For Free, says “Our mission is to address hunger…
On June 4th, RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and Whole Foods to host the Spring 2015 “Diversion and Reduction through Food Donation” WasteWise Forum. The event took place at Whole Foods Market Regional Office in Cambridge. It was a successful event that brought together 58 participants…
In a recent article, WBUR reports that a new non-profit grocery store has opened in Dorchester, aiming to reduce food waste by selling aging and surplus food at a steep discount. The Daily Table collects food donations from supermarkets and sells them for extremely low prices, such as “canned vegetables two for $1, a dozen…
