Do you own or run a Hospitality Business? And do you know how much money are you putting in the bin? 

There is a staggering statistic that 70% of the Food Waste produced by Hotels and Restaurants is actually avoidable. While we are putting food in the bin there are millions of people starving in other countries but for this piece we are going to move away from the human side of this problem, and look at it from an angle that motivates the majority of business owners: Cost Savings!

Stop throwing your money in the bin 

Putting food in the bin is quite literally the equivalent of putting your hard-earned cash in the bin. Of all waste types, this absolutely applies to food waste because of the many elements you have to factor in; 

1. You have purchased the raw produce at a cost. 
2. You have stored at your premises in fridges and freezers and therefore using energy that also costs you money.
3. You have then cooked it, using energy as well as staff wages to add to that cost. 
4. And then wh...

In this piece I will offer some handy tips that any Hospitality business can take to start reducing their waste production, and what happens when you produce less waste? You save MONEY off your waste bill! 

Waste is one of the most colossal challenges of our times. Waste production continues to increase, Ireland is facing a potential waste mountain with no place to go, for some facts and stats continue reading to the end of this blog. 

What is one of the first but most important steps to start reducing waste at your hospitality business?

Check your bins

It's a simple task but certainly not one that people want to engage with. I myself have carried this task out during my time as green manager.

However one thing is for sure, I learned from it and I in carrying out this onerous task, we managed to reduce our waste by 30% in one year. 

Investigating your bins allows you to understand what waste is produced at your business, so you can then take the necessary action to reduce some ...

I’ve often spoken about food waste and could continue to do so for the rest of my life, this is primarily down to the fact that our food supply systems are broken, and a shocking one third of all the food we produce ends up as waste before it even hits the shops.

When we talk about bridging the gap - this is clearly a social issue as well as an environmental one.

In terms of impacting the environment - when food waste ends up in landfill, which due to poor waste segregation is often the case - it produces methane, a gas that is far more damaging than carbon dioxide.

It currently accounts for between 8 - 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions however, we are forgetting the energy it takes to produce this food, the water required and the land destroyed to grow it. As I said - it is not a straightforward figure when it comes to its cycle of life and the greenhouse gases it produces along the way.

These are the global figures of food waste, but what about  for us mere mortals at home? ...

Prenote: I am not saying Recycling is a bad thing, but our current main stream systems of recycling have failed us.

In July 2019 The Guardian shared an article titled “Humans have made 8.3 billion metric tonnes of plastic since 1950” If you missed it the link is at the end of this blog.

The Current Situation

The article stated that up until then we had no idea how much plastic we had created and now that we know, the picture is not pretty.  8.3 billion metric tonnes of plastic has been created from 1950 to 2015, that is a terrifying statistic. It is the equivalent to the weight of 1 Billion elephants!

However the worst element of this, is that only 30% of the plastic created is still in use. The rest has been disposed of in three ways: 79% is in our landfills and environment, 12% has been incinerated and only 9% has been recycled. Amongst all this dismal data, what really got me thinking, is that half of the amount of plastic generated since 1950, was actually made in the last 15...

Sustainability has so many definitions that it can often drive people to distraction…

What does it actually mean? How do I make my own business more sustainable? How do I know if I am successful at greening my business?

The answers are much simpler than people may think and I'll tell you why.

Here at the Fifty Shades Greener office, a ‘green’ or sustainable business is simply one that reduces its impact to the environment. Businesses affect the environment in 3 ways; through their use of energy, production of waste and consumption of water.

In order to run an environmentally friendly business, you first need to reduce your business’s utilities, and the best part of this journey is that not only will you reduce your business’s Carbon Footprint and impact to the environment - you will also SAVE MONEY off your utility bills.

It is a win/win situation for any business owner.

Yet 99% of the Hotel owners I meet on a weekly basis, do not have a handle on these 3 pillars of sustainabilit...

Waste is one of the most colossal challenges of our times. Waste production continues to increase and Ireland is now facing a potential waste mountain with no place to go. For some facts and stats continue reading to the end of this blog.

The first step to reducing waste at your hospitality business – CHECK YOUR BINS!

I am aware this is less than glamorous but unfortunately it is the only way you can learn what waste you are producing. I myself had to carry this out over a period of months when I was green manager at Hotel Doolin. It is a less than savoury task BUT one thing is for sure, I learned A LOT from it and I reduced our waste by 30% in one year by applying very simple actions - the  first one being WATCHING YOUR BINS!

Checking your bins allows you to understand what waste is being produced at your business, enabling you to take the necessary steps to either reduce or abolish certain waste completely.

Check your bins at different times of the day and different days of the w...

Do you own or run a Hospitality Business? And do you know how much money are you putting in the bin? Food Waste is a REAL issue.

There is a staggering statistic that 70% of the Food Waste produced by Hotels and Restaurants is actually avoidable. While we are putting food in the bin there are millions of people starving in other countries but for this blog I am going to move away from the human side of this problem, and talk about what most motivates business owners: COST SAVINGS.

Putting food in the bin is literally the equivalent of putting your hard earned cash in the bin. More so even, than any other waste type. You have to factor in the following elements:

1. You bought the raw produce at a cost
2. You stored it in your fridges and freezers using energy that also cost you money
3. Then you cooked it, using energy and staff wages to add to that cost.
4. And then when the food comes back from your food service areas, or when it is spoiled in your fridges, you pay money for your waste com
...