Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Fat to Fuel
US military engineers are testing a plan to recycle used to restaurant
oil into biodiesel, a cleaner burning fuel. Slightly more than one
gallon of used cooking oil can be converted to one gallon of biodiesel
in a relatively simple operation.
3-4. Incineration and
Land filling
The final alternatives in the
integrated waste
management system are
incineration, which reduces
the volume solid waste and
can produce energy, and land
filling, which is the least
desirable option.
FACILITY WASTE ASSESSMENTS
In order to develop an effective waste management plan,
foodservice managers need first to determine the amount
and type of waste being generated by the operation.
Waste Assessment
A systematic way to identify waste reduction opportunities in a
specific operation.
Three main purposes:
1. establishes a better understanding of current purchasing,
waste generation, and waste disposal practices.
2. identifies potential waste reduction options for evaluation
3. establishes a baseline from which to measure the success of
waste reduction program.
Techniques conduct waste assessments:
Waste stream analysis
Involves: (1) collecting all waste from the opening to the closing
of the operation. (2) sorting by type of waste (paper, plastic,
paper napkins, aluminum, non-aluminum metal, plastic
containers, production food waste, service food waste) (3)
weighing each category of waste products.
Waste audit
•Used to determine the amounts and types of waste produced by a
specific location in a foodservice establishment. Random samples
are obtained over at least a one-week time span.
The Waste Stream Analysis has been found to give the most
accurate and precise information but is time-consuming
and costly to perform. The waste audit method, although
not as precise and accurate, has been found to be a cost-
effective and efficient alternative. Visual methods used to
estimate the volume of waste generated were found to be
the easiest to perform of the three methods and yielded data
that were not significantly different than the waste stream
analysis.
For both the foodservice operator and the environment,
real savings may be obtained from better control of energy
use. Cutting overhead costs in order to boost profits is a far
better alternative to raising menu prices in this economic
climate. The foodservice management team needs to
develop strategies for their particular operation that will
accomplish energy savings without compromising the
quality of products and service provided to customers.
As Margaret Mead so wisely put it, “Never doubt that a small
group of thoughtful, committed people can change the
world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” It is now an
ethical imperative that management makes the environment a
corporate commitment that each employee understands.
Implementing an integrated solid waste management system is
a foodservice practice that both preserves natural resources and
protects the environment. A waste assessment will provide the
manager with the information necessary in order to make wise
solid waste management system decisions.
I hope you
learned
something
new!