Avoiding food waste in the Mediterranean region

Project results

• 7 hotels and 11 restaurants in Rhodes, Calabria and Turkey were analyzed

• Waste volumes were systematically measured using a waste analysis tool and potential savings were identified in the respective areas based on the measurement results.

• Development and implementation of waste prevention measures, e.g. smaller containers or live cooking stations

• Food waste was reduced considerably: Around 400 kilograms less food waste per week and up to 26,500 euros reduced operating costs per season and hotel

• Specific examples of the savings: One hotel was able to reduce food waste at lunch by 61.5 kilograms, which corresponds to a saving of 40 percent. Another participating hotel was able to reduce waste at dinner by 106 kilograms per week. This corresponds to a saving of 21 percent.

• Cost savings of up to 26,500 euros per season were also achieved in terms of goods and disposal costs.

• For the broad implementation phase, the Futouris member companies were able to implement the topic of "sustainable food offerings on vacation" with a special focus on reducing food waste in other hotels and anchor it in the industry on a large scale.

Food waste is a global problem

It is estimated that around a third of all food is thrown away every year. In the hotel sector alone, 200,000 tons of food waste are generated in Germany every year. Around 50% of this could be avoided. The figures are likely to be comparable in other countries: The "Sustainable Food" baseline study showed that around 60% of food purchased ends up in the bin in the hotel businesses surveyed in Turkey and Gran Canaria. This is an alarmingly high figure that can be reduced through targeted measures along the value chain.

Futouris' aim with the "Avoiding food waste" project was to take action against this waste at selected vacation destinations in the Mediterranean region. In order to find out where waste can be reduced, waste measurements were carried out in partner hotels of Futouris members as part of the industry project in collaboration with United Against Waste e.V..

A waste analysis tool was used to determine how much waste is produced in the individual areas. Over several weeks, the hotels measured food waste in the areas of storage, production, buffets and leftovers. On this basis, United Against Waste then determined valid key figures and average values for the entire industry. Based on the measurements, checklists and a catalog with recommendations for waste reduction were then jointly developed for hotel operations - the chefs of the participating hotels exchanged ideas on possible improvements in a roundtable meeting. All relevant hotel employees were then trained according to the train-the-trainer principle. Once the measures developed had been implemented, waste measurements were carried out again in the participating hotels to evaluate the success of the project.