The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Perthshire café cuts costs and goes greener
Zero Waste Scotland helping companies across the country shape up
A Perthshire café is trying to cut its costs and reduce wastage by taking part in a new initiative powered by Zero Waste Scotland.
The Glendoick Garden Centre café is one of more than 200 businesses looking to curb outgoings and reduce its food waste through the Waste Reduction Business Support from Zero Waste Scotland that now provides free online virtual assessments.
With funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Scottish Government, the organisation is offering the online enhancement to its existing on-site service to recognise businesses that may still be affected by coronavirus distancing restrictions.
Interest-free loans ranging from £1,000 to £100,000 are available to support firms amending their operations to reduce waste.
The service can also point businesses to other potential funding streams.
Iain Clunie, Zero Waste Scotland’s food and drink programme manager, said: “We can help identify where waste is occurring and ways to tackle this.
“For instance, we know menu planning and stock control are issues for many during this uncertain time and it is something we can help with.”
All areas of a business can be examined and it covers everything from reducing the volume of fryer oil used to cutting back on plate waste.
It is estimated that every 240-litre bin filled with food waste costs around £151 for food purchase and disposal.
Additionally, the assessment goes beyond just the cost of the collected food waste, it also covers raw materials, the staff time used to prepare the food, and the water and energy used in the cooking process.
A desire to reduce food waste, identify better use of by-products and establish the real cost of waste to the company was the reason Glendoick Garden Centre chose to sign up.
Business support advisers and food waste reduction consultants worked with Glendoick staff to monitor waste and established a new process for preparation as they discovered preprepared sandwich fillings were a regular source of waste.
Café manager Senga Murray said: “Glendoick decided to participate in the Zero Waste Scotland food waste support services, confident we were already doing everything to keep wastage to a minimum. Still, we thought we had nothing to lose.
“After the initial assessment, the follow-up meeting guided us through how to record wastage, with a tool kit to monitor wastage in different areas.”