Food and Drink Waste Management

Commercial food waste is waste generated by businesses and organisations, including food service providers and retailers. The type of food waste produced varies from business to business, for example, food preparation waste and left over food is commonly disposed of by restaurants whereas unsold or expired food is more likely to be disposed of by green grocers, food wholesalers and supermarkets.

There are variety of valid reason why companies should recycle their waste;

• Saving Money
   Separating your food waste from the rest of your general waste and using a reputable waste company such as Hills to collect and dispose of your food waste can reduce the likely hood of  your business having overweight charges applied to general waste. 
• Environmental Benefits
  By composting food waste instead of sending it to landfill, we can significantly reduce methane emissions. Methane is a harmful greenhouse gas and by recycling food waste we reduce the amount that ends up in landfill. Simpler recycling legislation now makes it illegal to send food waste to landfill.
• Hygiene
  Food waste isn't just untidy and smelly, it can also be dangerous. Our sturdy waste food bins will keep your waste hygienic, and our flexible collection service means we can take it away as often as your business needs.

Once collected, food waste is taken to a local waste facility to be recycled using anaerobic digestion. This creates energy for the National Grid and fertiliser for the agriculture industry.

The main types of commercial food waste include unsold or expired food products such as fruit and vegetables, dairy products, meat, and bakery products. It also includes food preparation waste such as eggshells and coffee grounds.

Hills Waste collects all food waste, such as uncooked and cooked foods, goods with packaging, including: kitchen waste, bread and bakery goods, cut fruit and vegetables, milk, cheese and dairy products, seafood products and waste food residues from the food industry.

The service of commercial food recycling is particularly suitable for canteens, restaurants, cafes, fast food retailers, supermarkets, food producers, schools, hospitals, offices and similar organisations that have to deal with larger or moderate levels of food residues and waste on a daily basis.

Food waste should always be thrown into special food waste bins to be collected and treated correctly to make recycling easier and to avoid landfill, which with forthcoming legislation will make it illegal to send to landfill.

Food is collected by Hills Waste regardless of how the food is packaged, and then it is sorted and taken to an Energy from Waste Facility and separated from the rest of the waste for it to be turned into energy which then goes back into the National Grid.

In the UK and worldwide food waste is a serious problem. For example, according to a report from WRAP they estimate that roughly 9.5 million tonnes of food is wasted in the UK a year (source). This has led the production and manufacturing industry to come up with various plans and schemes designed to combat this behaviour. Some of these schemes include things such as The Courtauld Commitment which was designed to reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2030 by educating people and making the system more efficient.

Drink waste includes any packaging and containers that hold beverages such as plastic bottles, cans, and glass. Businesses, including restaurants and supermarkets, that generate this type of waste must dispose of it in an appropriate and responsible manner.

Glass, plastic bottles and cans are 100% recyclable and can be recycled and must be placed in the correct container so it can be collected by authorised waste carriers such as Hills Waste and taken to specialised processing facilities to be turned back into products or aggregates.

Restaurants, pubs and bars dispose of more than 200,000 tonnes of glass materials per year (source), which will take several years to degrade. At Hills Waste we ensure that your business recycles glass waste effectively by recycling it into various products.