The two biggest waste culprits within the hospitality industry are food waste and single use plastic trash. But now, two sustainability startups, LightBlue Environmental Consulting (LBEC) and Travel Without Plastic (TWP) are joining forces to tackle these two elephants in the hotel room. By James Teo.

Singapore, October 2019. In recent years, research has consistently shown that up to 50% of all food purchased for commercial use never makes it close to the buffet or the restaurant table.

“Pre-consumer food waste is composed of about 40% non-edible items,” says Benjamin Lephilibert, Managing Director of LBEC. But more startlingly, says Lephilibert, the remainder is related to inefficient storage systems, unskilled trimming, overstocking or over production.

“Kitchen waste is generally given much less attention when discussing food waste,” he explains, “while buffet (over supply) is commonly mistaken as the biggest source of food waste.” It’s not.

Both LBEC and its new partner, Travel Without Plastic (TWP), are going back to basics and looking not at the obvious – and sometimes mistaken – targets, but taking a step back and looking at the wider operational picture along with reduction in overall waste and before any on-the-ground operational changes are made. And they need making; roughly one third of the food produced in the world (1.3 billion tonnes) for human consumption is wasted and around 300 million tonnes of plastic is produced every year, half of which is for single use.

One aspect of this is TWP’s province – the use of plastic containers. The organisation estimates an average of 15% of single use plastic is often purchased purely out of habit, with no regard for whether the product adds any value or advantage to the guest experience.

“We take our own responsibility to reducing waste seriously, but we can make an even bigger impact by helping businesses to do the same,” says Jo Hendrickx, CEO of TWP. In previous work with hotel operators, TWP has shown that where management has taken a serious approach to overall waste, up to 68% of single use plastic waste can be reduced simply by following basic approaches and implementing innovative communications; ones that encourage guests to be part of the solution.

In fact, say TWP and LBEP, most organisations face the biggest challenge not from adopting the latest throw-away, instant-on practices, but from habit. “This is the biggest challenge for both plastics and food waste, compounded by today’s hectic on-the-go lifestyles,” say the companies. “Hotels where guests would normally sit down for breakfast now offer to-go cafes, fuelled by single use packaging that caters for city breakers and business clients who are rushing out to the office.” As most of us know, the takeaway coffee is now a ‘tradition’ that the majority of us follow, but that in fact is not really necessary at all.

“So combining our (food and plastics) approaches makes it easier for hospitality businesses to tackle both issues at the same time without becoming overwhelmed by the challenges,” says Lephilibert.

The big plus in this dual food/plastic assessment is, he says, that it is far easier to convince hotel and hospitality operators to cut waste by highlighting the significant cost savings created, especially when environmental concerns are not the main motivator. As Lephilibert says, “It’s the bottom line that usually triggers action.”