Before we dive into these brilliant insights from our friends at the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA), we wanted to say a quick thanks.

We’ve been lucky enough to work alongside the SRA team on our Flow Learning sustainability modules, and if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s this: when they talk about sustainability, hospitality operators should listen.

Their advice isn’t just smart - it’s practical, actionable and grounded in real-world experience. Exactly the kind of guidance we all need right now.

So as these new waste regulations roll in, we couldn’t think of better people to help you prepare. Whether you’re looking to cut costs, streamline operations or future-proof your business, their insights here are gold dust.

Consider this your cheat sheet - straight from the experts we trust, shared with you because we know it’ll make a difference.

Now, over to the SRA…

The way the hospitality industry produces and handles waste is an enormous problem. When we waste food — or anything else — all the energy, water, labour, transport emissions and other resources that have gone into producing it are also lost.

Meanwhile, food loss and waste generate 8-10% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, and make a significant contribution to biodiversity loss by wasting almost one-third of the world’s agricultural land.   

This urgently needs addressed from an environmental perspective but, on a day-to-day basis, food waste also represents a completely unnecessary expense for an already struggling hospitality sector.

By reducing waste, businesses can also reduce their scope 3 emissions, increase efficiency and improve profitability, all at the same time.

The UK’s Simpler Recycling legislation will be introduced from the end of March and calls for better separation of waste from businesses.

This legislation is an important step forward, but we strongly encourage the industry to take this as a starting point. What we really need is a much bigger shift in our attitudes to change we way we think about waste and embrace a circular approach.

Preventing the creation of waste in the first place, rather than improving our recycling methods, is where we’ll really see the scale of change that’s needed. At The SRA, we also believe that this is a fundamental step towards building a more efficient, resilient industry.

The hospitality sector is always hard-pressed for time, so that poses a challenge for embracing any new initiative.

Rising costs are a particularly stressful issue at the moment, so for some businesses, implementing the necessary bin infrastructure and training staff on waste segregation may feel like a stretch financially.

There are also the logistics of providing that training — how much is needed, exactly what should it cover and who will deliver it? This is likely to pose a challenge for many time- and resource-poor businesses.

However, it's not all bad - with the right planning, training and compliance procedures, all of these obstacles are very manageable!

First, businesses should conduct a waste audit. Figure out which types of waste your business generates the most and where you can make improvements.

Next, speak to your waste collector to ensure you meet the new requirements, reviewing your contracts if necessary.

Next, tackle the physical changes needed. Install separate bins for each waste stream (dry mixed recycling, paper and card, food waste, and residual waste) and ensure clear signage is in place to help staff and customers segregate waste correctly.

Be conscious of the waste generated in each area; for example, the space behind the bar might need a bigger dry mixed recyclables bin because of glass bottles, while back-of-house offices might produce more paper for recycling.

Following this, put a training plan in place. Your staff will need clear instructions on what’s needed to comply with the legislation, including how to separate waste correctly and avoid contamination.

This training should become part of your standard induction for new hires as well as being regularly enforced across the entire team.

Once the legislation is in place, monitor your progress. Check your bins regularly to ensure that waste is being segregated properly.

Go further than mere compliance: put measurable, time-driven targets in place for reducing your waste — organic and non-organic — and share your progress against these goals through regular team updates.

Once you’ve made changes within your business, you can greatly expand your impact by working with your suppliers to reduce waste throughout your supply chain, too.

• At The Assemblies in Bristol — three venues called No.1 Harbourside, The Old Market Assembly and The Canteen — they focus on the active prevention of food waste as a means to manage costs.
  
  They leverage both weekly and year-on-year data to spot trends that enable them to adjust orders, reducing the chances that surplus food will arrive in the kitchen in the first place. 
  
  One simple strategy – yet a revolutionary one in some ways – is that the kitchen team will allow dishes to ‘run out’ during service. They also design their menus using the principles of circularity, aiming to use every part of each ingredient across multiple dishes: for example, when they’re serving charred cauliflower, the leaves go into stocks and soups or are used in another dish, like cauliflower pakora.
   
• At The Bull Inn, Totnes, they believe the simplest and most effective approach to minimising waste is through serving reasonably sized portions.
  
  They also remain flexible, changing the menu often to reflect what they have available.
   
• At Ozone Coffee Roasters, they’re great at repurposing by-products.
  
  Surplus oat and dairy milks from the coffee bar are churned into rich ricotta for omelettes or used to create a condensed oat syrup for granola and baked goods, while sourdough off-cuts are milled into flour for their signature crumpets.
   
• At Hawksmoor, getting the team involved and engaged has been a game changer, and regular training is a big part of this.
  
  Among other things, their Green Team suggests ways of preventing, repurposing and redirecting waste.
  
  Carefully weighing their food waste helps them to create specific targets for reduction. They also make use good use of technology, with smart systems that can help them forecast and order as accurately as possible, optimising stock management and minimising surplus.
  
  They even use data to foster a little healthy competition among their restaurants, challenging the teams to see which site can reduce waste the furthest!

The reduction in costs is the biggest benefit — and will be particularly welcome at the moment, with a lot of F&B businesses struggling to make ends meet.

Reducing food waste saves money in a number of ways, including lower disposal costs, more efficient prep, better stock management and smarter ordering, and increased awareness around portion control and plate waste.

Finding ways to use every part of each ingredient can also reduce order volumes overall (and encourages more creativity in your kitchen!).

Beyond costs, this can also have a significant impact on your scope 3 emissions — traditionally the hardest to measure and control — while also reducing your environmental impact in terms of land use and biodiversity loss.

Preparing for the new waste legislation requires both knowledge and practical implementation. While these insights provide a strong foundation, success will depend on how effectively they're put into practice across your teams and operations.

Further resources:
• thesra.org
• Reach out to our team