Hospitality businesses are mainly associated with restaurants, rest houses, hotels, and theme parks. Every day, the trash cans in the vicinity of these hospitality businesses are filled up with items that can be recycled or used by other people. With the increasing emphasis on cleanliness, the owners of hospitality businesses are looking for ways through which they can reduce waste in this business and contribute to the betterment of their environment. Given below are some ways that, when followed, will help reduce the waste being produced via any hospitality business:
- Conduct a Waste Audit
Conducting a waste audit will help the managers know about the amount of daily waste, along with the major source of waste. The manager also needs to check the amount of waste that can be recycled and to take necessary measures for recycling. If the waste audit is carefully considered and necessary actions are taken, the amount of wasted items can be reduced on daily basic leading to a cleaner environment.
- Emphasize on Reusable Materials
The materials that can be used again help a lot to reduce waste. Managers and senior staff should tell the employees about the importance of reusable items. By having reusable vegetable bags, you can reduce the daily amount of waste in bins to about 45 percent. So, to reduce waste in your hospitality business, use recyclable and reusable items including plates, bags, jars, containers, glasses, towels, etc.
- Create Awareness
Awareness can also help reduce the amount of waste. Organize a seminar to create awareness about the changing trends and environmental pollution, along with the role that the employees can play in coping up with the challenges. Tell the employees to think twice about what they are going to throw away and how they can reduce waste. Some hospitality businesses as an attempt to reduce waste assign one waste bin to one employee and then at the end of the day the bin with the minimum waste receives a special bonus or incentive.
- Plan for Leftover Food
In restaurants every day the food that is eaten is less than the food wasted. As we all know that about 20 percent of the population goes to bed with an empty stomach, to reduce waste and to help the needy people, managers need to donate the extra food instead of wasting it. Another way to reduce the amount of leftover food is to track the amount of food consumed daily and to cook according to that amount.
- Inform the Customers About your Waste Policy
Inform the customers about your waste policy through social media or at the reception. Creating awareness and informing about the waste policy will also help customers in reducing waste. Ask customers if they would like to participate in waste reducing initiatives. Also, encourage customers to give ideas that can be helpful in reducing waste.