Pubs waste £8,000 in food every year

The annual cost of food waste to the average pub is £8,000 with avoidable plate waste coming in at 41p.

It is estimated that pubs serve 11% of all meals eaten out each year, equivalent to 871 million meals, producing 173,000 tonnes of food waste alone.

Unavoidable waste accounts for 29%, but of produce that could be saved potatoes are the highest at 23% and fruit and vegetables at 18%. Bakery goods account for 9% followed by meat and fish, pasta and rice and dairy produce.

BBPA work​

Chair of the Responsibility Deal Susan Jebb urged pub chefs to look at plate waste, adjust portion control and listen to their customers’ demands.

Meanwhile, the BBPA has worked with WRAP on the production of a fact sheet designed to help pubs cut waste, which can be downloaded here:  http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Pubs.pdf​

Chief executive Brigid Simmonds said: “This work we have done with Wrap shows that there are big savings to be made when it comes to managing food waste – an average of £8,000 per pub. If pubs identify where food waste occurs and put together an action plan, it could help their bottom line as well as the environment.”