Open access publications in the SLU publication database

Abstract

Public sector food services are a major contributor to food waste generation in Sweden, with schools, preschools, elderly care homes, hospitals etc. producing approximately 70 000 ton of food waste per year. Sweden already has appropriate infrastructure for treating this waste to recycle nutrients and energy, but there is still great potential to move up in the waste hierarchy and prevent waste. A first step on the path to achieving waste reduction is to quantify the waste, in order to get useful statistics on which to base the design of waste-reducing actions. Since the municipality of Sala has already been investigated and analysed regarding the quantities of food waste it produces, this follow-up study investigated how the whole municipality can move from waste quantification to successful waste reduction. The material used comprised quantified volumes recorded by the municipal catering organisation in Sala from 2014 to 2017. These data were combined with interviews with managers and with staff in the kitchens that had achieved the greatest reduction in waste during the study period, in order to identify successful food waste reduction measures. From the results, two general tactics for waste reduction were identified; a trial and error tactic imposing the same actions on all kitchens, irrespective of their food waste volumes or potential problems, and systematic improvement of individual kitchens through actions based on their specific problems and conditions. Systematic improvement was found to be the most efficient for the individual kitchen, but since very few kitchens actually employed this tactic it had only minor effects on the whole organisation compared with the trial and error approach.