More Americans are dining out than ever before. According to the U.S. Census Bureau restaurant sales are up 4% this year, exceeding grocery store sales. Confirming this trend, the National Restaurant Association predicts record restaurant sales in 2019.
However, with a lot of food comes a lot of waste. About 31% of restaurant refuse is food according to the USDA's Economic Research Service.
Orlando, in particular, produces a lot of food waste. The city has been named the fast food capital of America by the Daily Beast due to the number of fast food establishments in town. The theme parks also have numerous restaurants, snack carts, bakeries, and other eateries that produce tons of food waste annually. Disney World alone has several hundred eateries according to their website.
So what happens to all the food waste in Orlando?
In this time of environmental consciousness, companies have placed an emphasis on limiting and recycling food waste. Walt Disney World has partnered with a company called Harvest Power to turn much of it into clean energy and natural fertilizers. Likewise, Universal collects food waste from its restaurants and recycles, composts, or converts it into energy as part of NBCUniversal’s Zero Waste program.
Not every restaurant has the resources like the major Orlando parks to convert food waste into fuel. How do smaller restaurant chains and independent eateries handle their waste?
A researcher from the University of Central Florida studied how Orlando restaurant workers view food waste, what and what they are doing about it. Turns out, they have a financial interest in reducing waste. Throwing away food is expensive. Being more efficient with food use reduces costs.
As to why food waste is so abundant in Orlando, there’s blame to share. Customers often over-order food so restaurants often over-prepare it. The result is more food on the table than diners can consume. Buffets in particular produce a lot of waste, with fruits and vegetables forming the bulk of it.
To combat this, some workers suggest better food inventory management. However, the unpredictability of the market can make this solution costly for businesses. An empty restaurant one week can be packed the next. Chefs have to be ready to feed all the patrons, leading to the purchasing of more food than is often needed as a precaution, even though much of that food ends up in the scrap pile.
Without cheap and immediate solutions, food waste in Orlando will be difficult to combat. The city recognizes this and started an initiative last May to fight the problem. Collections sites were set up in three farmer’s markets around town. Where is the food waste going? Same place as Disney World’s waste, Harvest Power. For now the program is voluntary and for residential scraps only. If successful, though, it could be expanded.