The waste discussion is back — or getting bigger than ever before, perhaps. This is according to Joe Sorgent, director of sustainability for Cini-Little International Inc., who started as a waste consultant back in the early 2000s.

Foodservice consultant Joe Sorgent at Cini•Little International Inc. offers a consultant’s take on which pandemic-induced changes will be for good and which may fade away. 

Taking preventative action marks the first step in cutting down on waste, per the Environmental Protection Agency. Source reduction remains at the top of the EPA’s Waste Management hierarchy. Recovery and redistribution through donations and food banks comes next.

Reid Health and MGM Resorts make strides in food waste reduction.

Creating the right infrastructure lays at the start of any waste reduction movement.

Regulatory drivers, top chefs, consumers and even the Pope, help push topic of food waste to the forefront.

When foodservice professionals discuss waste management, the conversation generally turns to composting, recycling, and donating excess food — anything that happens after the food has been wasted. But what about preventing the waste from occurring in the first place?

As a result of a waste management initiative that focused on a pair of corporate cafeterias, Intel and Bon Appetit developed some best practices in food handling and waste reduction. Here are a few lessons they learned and how they have been applied in Intel’s two Hillsboro, Ore., dining facilities.

The concept of waste management continues to gain traction within the foodservice industry. That’s probably due to the fact that better management of food waste can positively impact a business in multiple ways.Namely by lowering operating costs and lessening the facility’s impact on the environment.

Effective Waste Management for Today and Tomorrow's Foodservice Industry