Reduce Restaurant Waste & Boost Profits

How to Reduce Food Waste and Boost Profits for Your Restaurant

When you are running a restaurant, every penny counts. Margins are as thin as the competition is fierce, and you want to give your guests a great experience while also making a profit. Unfortunately, you can serve scrumptious food, have the friendliest staff, and provide the most pristine, inviting atmosphere, but if you’re not on top of food waste, your profits won’t be what they should. In many US restaurants, 10 percent of the food purchased ends up rotting in a landfill. If you care about sustainability and want to boost your bottom line, it’s time to stop wasting food.

Common Types of Waste and How to Reduce Food Waste in Restaurants

Sometimes, restaurants waste food simply because they haven’t mastered portion control. While you don’t want to shortchange your customers, if much of the meal is going to waste, your portions may be too large. Another common type of waste in restaurants comes from over-ordering supplies. If your vegetables are going bad before you use them, or you notice you’re having to throw away half a pan of the same side dish every night, your inventory practices need work.

How Food Waste Impacts Restaurant Profit Margins

The food that goes into the garbage isn’t just food. Each menu item that is wasted represents labor, and even unprepared ingredients are there because someone took the time to acquire and store them. Either you’re wasting the time you invested in this, or you’re wasting the money you paid someone else to do it. Why waste so much time and money, when it’s preventable?

Which Practice Can Help Reduce Food Waste? Practical Tips to Reduce Food Waste

How can you cut waste in your restaurant? Start with an audit, identifying the problem areas where food is being wasted. Is it over-prepping? Are your ingredients spoiling before you have a chance to use them? Are customers throwing away too many leftovers? Track waste for a week, making your staff aware of your concerns, so that everyone will be on the same page, paying attention. Once you know where you’re having trouble, here are some actionable steps to take.

• Monitor food inventory and portion control. Manage your inventory intelligently, so that you don’t overstock, and work with reliable suppliers who will help you strike the right balance. Implement a first-in, first-out policy, so that you make sure you’re using older ingredients before the new ones arrive. Work to master portion control, so that your portions are consistent. Train your staff to be precise when measuring food, not to skimp, but to make sure everyone is preparing things the same way, and the customers know what to expect.
• Compost or donate excess food. Composting can divert food from landfills and turn it into a gardening resource. Donating edible surplus to charity serves multiple purposes. It reduces waste, allows you to give back to your community, and may even afford you tax deductions. Make sure you check local regulations, so that you stay in compliance.
• Recycle cardboard and plastics correctly. Don’t forget about non-food waste! Every piece of plastic that goes into the dumpster instead of being recycled takes up space and wastes the opportunity to reduce your carbon footprint.
• Use reusable supplies where possible. Single use may be convenient, but items you use only once are more expensive in the long run, as well as being a less sustainable option. “Real” dishes and silverware are more customer-friendly, too, because they make the food seem just a little bit more upscale.
• Schedule regular trash pickups with the right dumpster size. Work with your local waste management company to come up with the right plan for your waste collection, and you’ll find that you may be able to save money there, too.

Choose the Right Dumpster Solution for Your Restaurant

Choosing a dumpster for your restaurant is another step in the process. A dumpster that’s too big will cost you unnecessarily, and one that is too small will be an overflowing mess. As you teach your staff to reduce waste, you may find that you can go down a size on your dumpster, and this represents additional savings.

Benefits of Partnering with a Professional Waste Service

The waste management company you choose is important, because the right company can help you determine the best solutions for your business. A locally owned waste company will have expertise in your area, and understand the challenges facing restaurant owners. When you work with the right company, you’ll have the flexibility to make changes to your agreement as needed, and a professional waste management company may have solutions you haven’t even considered. At B-P Trucking, we don’t just handle trash; we also have recycling and composting programs to help your restaurant reduce waste.

Final Tips to Turn Waste into Savings

Think creatively about food waste. Why not turn your leftover ingredients or soon-to-expire items into something new? Repurposing ingredients to create unique menu items can lead to fresh, new ideas. Turn your vegetable scraps into stock, and toast the bread ends into croutons. Determine which menu items are near their expiration date, and make those the daily specials. Train your staff to spot opportunities for thinking outside the box, and foster an atmosphere where communication flows, creativity is encouraged, sustainability is part of the company culture, and reducing waste is a team effort.

Partner with B-P Trucking for Restaurant Waste Management

From dumpsters to recycling to compost, when your restaurant needs waste management, contact B-P Trucking for the highest quality of service. Founded in 1965 as a small rubbish company, our family-owned and operated business now provides top-tier waste management and recycling services to communities throughout Massachusetts and the surrounding states. Our customers count on us to stay at the cutting edge of a rapidly changing industry, providing the highest quality of service, backed by the experience, vehicles, equipment, and knowledge necessary to exceed our customers’ expectations. Our commitment to excellence and our highly trained service personnel makes us industry leaders, providing commercial, industrial, and residential customers with successful, innovative, and financially efficient waste management that evolves to meet their changing needs. To learn more about our comprehensive waste management services, contact us through our website.