Whitbread PLC, a UK hotel and restaurant company, has announced that it is going to roll out an innovative food waste recycling scheme to over 300 of its hotels and restaurants during 2010 – saving over 2,000 tonnes of carbon emissions this year alone. Whitbread will be using anaerobic digestion, a method which sees waste materials broken down by microorganisms, which is then transformed into green electricity and biofertiliser for local crops. This is widely recognised as one of the best methods for the sustainable management of food waste and has a dramatic impact in reducing greenhouse gases and carbon emissions.
The waste from Premier Inn, Beefeater Grill, Brewers Fayre, Table Table and Taybarns sites will be picked up, processed and then used to create renewable energy instead of going to landfill, preventing over 2,000 tonnes of carbon emissions entering the atmosphere every year – equivalent to taking 750 cars off the road.
Alexandra Glenn, Waste & Recycling Procurement Manager for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants said: ‘Whitbread are leading the hospitality industry’s drive towards improving sustainable performance. One of our key targets is to achieve 80% of waste diverted from landfill from our hotels and restaurants by February 2012 and this will help us achieve that target with ease.’
