The company’s restaurants are zero waste

If garbage cans pile up in Paris, the fight against garbage is organized in the main business district on its outskirts. Since 2018, a collective of twenty companies in La Défense (Hauts-de-Seine) has decided to tackle the problem of waste generated by its company restaurants. “At the neighborhood level, food waste that is still edible is estimated at six to nine tons per day.”explains Martin Baruch, president of the La Défense des Aliments association and CSR manager at Allianz France, one of the companies behind the project.

to raise employee awareness, “Bread Mixers” Installed in several participating companies such as Suez. “We put all the uneaten bread in a jar and show it at the self-service entrance”, explains Martin Baruch. With some success, as the amount of bread thrown away decreases year by year, Suez found.

108 grams per day per person

On average, the International Food Waste Coalition estimates that in 2022, 108 grams of company food products will be thrown away per day and per guest. “Dwindling considerably due to changing consumer habits and the Covid crisis, which has simplified the offering”Association project manager Thomas Kandil explains.

To prevent discarded salads or gratins from ending up in the trash, the 2018 Agriculture and Food Law (EGalim) added two cents. Operators must now carry out mandatory diagnostics to assess the amount of wasted food and its value; In addition, those who prepare more than three thousand meals a day should partner with associations to sell their unsold products that are still consumable.

In a large collective food family, service providers are working to reduce the size of bins. Compass Group France sells grocery baskets that are still edible at discounted prices on the Too Good To Go app. The company also donates its surplus food to associations that redistribute it to people in need.

For the rest of the food waste, the service provider uses specialized companies that use the remaining plates to make compost. On the plastic side, water fountains in restaurants aim to replace water bottles.

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