How To Make Circular Restaurant?
Do you know why we need to build a circular restaurant? There are many reasons why implementing circular economy principles in restaurants is very important for us to do. First, the data shows that one source of food waste comes from restaurants. Second, this restaurant waste wastes so many resources that shouldn’t be wasted. Third, restaurant profits can be reduced because of the large amount of food waste they throw away. Therefore, we want to share many ways for you to build a circular restaurant.
Rethink every process and material you use
To be able to build a circular restaurant, first you have to rethink all the processes and materials in your restaurant. Think about which processes are creating the most waste and what processes might replace it. Then, use the materials or agricultural products that you use, do you really have the right amount and characteristics or you can reduce the amount so you don’t produce waste. Rethinking every process and material will help you prevent waste and emissions before they happen.
Optimize your life time’s equipment as long as possible
If you have items or equipment that you use frequently, try to keep them as long as possible. Apply the principles of refurbishment and remanufacturing so that your equipment is not easily wasted. For example, you can fix a broken coffee machine, or fix a broken chair. Thus, the life span of your equipment can last longer.
Use your tools from recycled materials
If we are opening a restaurant for the first time, we will usually buy a lot of necessities right? What if we could use recycled materials? The use of recycled materials can make your restaurant more environmentally friendly. You will save your budget and reduce items that have the potential to become waste. For example, you can make employee aprons from recycled sheets or interior designs that come from used items that we repaint.
Make your packaging products that are easily recycled or durable
Single-use plastic is a problem that has a big impact on the environment. The use of single-use plastic is most often used to wrap food or drinks. If you want your restaurant to implement a circular economy, you can use packaging materials that are compostable or reusable. For example, if you originally used plastic cups to sell drinks, you could switch to glass bottles. Apart from that, you can also replace plastic bags with organic bags or goody bags so that you don’t produce a lot of waste.
Measure and calculate your waste production
Measuring and calculating is the main job for a manager. Because we can’t control what we can’t measure. Therefore, if indeed your restaurant is still producing waste, we can measure this waste regularly and graph the changes over time. With specific and accurate data, you can make the right strategic decisions so you can reduce the amount of waste. You don’t have to measure it manually, because now there are many advanced technologies that can help you apply the measurements. One startup that emphasizes measuring food waste with AI is Winnow.
Keep your resources close at hand
Carbon emissions often come from the distribution process using vehicles that use fossil fuels. If your restaurant is still doing the same thing, you can try to move production locations closer. You can build a circular restaurant by utilizing local products so you don’t contribute to large emissions. In fact, you can also use some space of your restaurant to grow some agricultural products like Ultima. In principle, the shorter the production chain, the less emissions you produce. Then, growing food products independently will also save on distribution costs and production costs, thereby providing financial benefits for your restaurant. In addition, if possible, you can use environmentally friendly vehicles, so that if there must be a distribution process, you can still reduce carbon emissions.
Share your food
Overproduction is very common in restaurants. Circular restaurant will not let that happen. If you overproduce, then you can share it with other people who need it. You can do it for free, give it away at a discount, or you can set up a donation program so others can play the role of donors. The important point of this strategy is that you can mitigate food waste while at the same time making a social impact on society. Even so, some restaurants have rules against sharing free food with others for food safety reasons. Therefore, you also have to be wise and careful with this various food program.
Turn your food waste into compost
Food waste in restaurants is very difficult for us to avoid. Therefore, you can start building a circular restaurant by composting the organic waste. Making compost from food waste in restaurants can provide benefits. First you reduce food waste. Second, you help farmers or anyone who is caring for plants. Third, if you make good compost, maybe you can sell it for a pretty good price. Maybe you can involve your employees to study and process the food waste so that it turns into useful compost for plants.