Food Waste Management Rugby

Rugby Waste provides complete peace of mind when it comes to secure product destruction to food and beverage manufacturers, big and small companies, and logistics facilities, to name a few. Our goal is to preserve important natural resources by promoting waste reduction as well as reusing and recycling. We’ll also offer you freebins, deliver them for free and also conduct a waste audit for you should you need it. Please contact us on 01788 340 610 for an obligation free quote.

What is Food Waste?

There is a lot of discussion about food waste. If there is a shortage of food, food could end up wasted, causing food prices to skyrocket. A growing number of people will have to face the consequences of food waste in the future as world poverty and dwindling food resources become a reality. Therefore, the reduction of food waste is vital for the UK to meet its climate change commitments and to comply with the European Landfill Directive by reducing the volume of biodegradable waste disposed in landfills.

Also, food waste contributes to greenhouse gas emissions when it is disposed of in landfills and groundwater may be contaminated by this type of disposal. When you consider the amount of energy and environmental impact that goes into wasting food and drink, it’s clear that this has a negative influence on the environment.

How is Food Waste Managed Rugby?

Here are some of the most frequent and efficient methods for reducing or managing food waste in your company:

Food waste reduction at source: Conducting a waste audit will let you know how and where does your food waste most often happen, and therefore assist you in reducing the food wastage at source. When overproduction is plainly contributing to waste, the simplest solution to reduce food waste is to simply produce less.

Reuse: Find other useful uses for food waste that contribute to your business being eco-friendly. This means you’re making value from your food waste. Some types of waste food can be converted into a variety of valuable products, including biofuels and fertilizers. Food producers can solve their food waste problems 100 percent by utilizing an efficient composting strategy.

Donation: Excess foodstuffs that are still safe to consume can be given to the hungry and underprivileged who are unable to purchase adequate food in today’s high-priced economy. Doing so may also help put your company in good spirits with the public. Everyone likes a giver. 

Recycling: When all is said and done and you have taken all of the above steps to improve your food waste but you still have some that cannot be donated or composted, the next best thing is recycling. You can recycle this food so that it can be used to fertilize or improve good quality soils, or even to generate energy that can be turned to electricity. More about recycling below.

How is Food Recycled?

After we collect the food from your premises to our recycling plants, there are two ways that it can be recycled., namely, in-vessel composting and anaerobic digestion, also known as AD. 

In-vessel composting: In this method, food waste is mixed with garden waste like leaves, shredded, and composted in an enclosed system for 2-4 weeks (temperatures of up to 70°C speed up the process and kill any harmful microorganisms). Afterwards, the material suffers an additional 1 to 3 months outside with regular rotation and quality inspections before being utilized as a natural fertilizer.

Anaerobic Digestion: This is perhaps the most popular method of food waste recycling as it is believed to offer more out of the food waste. It relies on microorganisms to break down waste materials, animal dung, slurries, and energy crops without oxygen, which occurs in enclosed systems. The decomposing food waste produces methane, which can then be collected and converted into biogas to be used for generating electricity, heating the house, or transportation. Moreover, a digestate produced by it is nutrient-rich, which can be used as a fertilizer or for soil regeneration.