Food waste management

Best practices

Sustainable wastewater treatment chemicals in a dairy

Tackling the sludge Strategic use of organic chemical cleaners saves UK dairy € 50 000 annually Reduced need for harardous chemicals and water savings as a direct result Treating wastewater onsite can be a costly exercise. A large British dairy set out to cut costs associated with wastewater...
Best practices

Finnish hypermarket uses digital application to minimise food wastage

Hyper-solutions to food wastage show the way A major hypermarket which sells a large range of food products looked for ways to improve on its already good food waste credentials It realised that even small amounts of waste quickly add up to a bigger problem Using digital technology it identified a...
Best practices

Turning whisky distillery by-products into value-added opportunities

The spirit of enterprise Adding value to unavoidable whisky distillery by-products Opportunities identified to reduce waste and provide a business opportunity Penderyn Whisky Distillery is situated in the community of Penderyn in the Welsh Beacons. The main distillery, offices and visitor centre are...
Best practices

Surplus food from grocery stores to charities

Shared table... a shared cause A network for collection and centralised logistics of surplus food from grocery chains helps different charities It means more reliable food waste collection through pooled logistics solutions In Vantaa, Finland a logistics network has been developed for collecting and...
Best practices

Bioethanol and animal feed from bread spill of grocery stores

Bread salvagers Bread surplus from a Finnish grocery trading cooperative is used to produce bioethanol and animal feed Leftovers are collected from over 50 stores and bakeries in and around Helsinki The Helsinki Cooperative Society Elanto - or HOK-Elanto - is a grocery trading cooperative operating...
Best practices

Food waste turned into bioenergy for food manufacturers

Closing loops Inedible food waste from Finnish grocery stores is collected and made into biogas Biogas is then used by the food manufacturer partners of the company Kesko is the second-biggest operator in the Finnish grocery trade with a market share of approximately 37.2 %. Unsold products from...
Best practices

Simple retrofit saves energy in retail store in Scotland

When simple is much better than expected... Retailer leads the way in its proactive energy saving approach Simple retrofit results in wide-scale savings on power and waste Simple retrofitting that included optimising energy consumption (including lighting and heating) is saving a Scotting retail...
Best practices

Priorities in managing food waste

Retailers should set a list of priorities to optimise how they manage food waste. The highest priority should be to sell to the customer before the use-by date, but sometimes this is not possible or products are damaged during handling. In these cases, a variety of options are available, including...
Best practices

Supermarket reduces food waste by selection management

K's choice ​Targeted software and methods allow a Finnish grocery store to substantially reduce food waste in all departments Thousands of euros saved by reducing food waste over only a couple of months The Finnish National Waste Plan to 2030 aims to promote food waste reduction through fostering a...
Best practices

Longer opening hours reduced food waste at Lidl Finland

​Peak planning, peak performance... Extended opening hours reduce demand fluctuations, resulting in better forecasting New system monitors demand and improves forecast-based planning and food-waste reporting At Lidl Finland, longer opening hours were tested first in 20 different stores, following...
Best practices

Meant to be tasted, not wasted

Retailer reduces food loss with customers on-board Finnish grocery stores actively communicate to customers about their food waste management efforts, encouraging them to reduce household food waste too Active communication and customer outreach in matters of enviromental responsibility can...
Best practices

Utilising food waste from grocery retail

Food waste should primarily be reduced to a minimum. However, some food waste will inevitably be generated. Stores can then look for ways to put unsold groceries to use. Food residues from the grocery trade can be either edible or non-edible. Edible food waste includes products that have passed...