WasteWatch: Prevention is better than cure

Singapore

SODEXO'S WasteWatch programme focuses on minimising the generation of food waste, so that the waste treatment stage won't be necessary.

"About one-third of food items globally are thrown away before it reaches the consumer, so we believe prevention is key," says Roshith Rajan, Sodexo's director of corporate responsibility for Asia-Pacific.

Using WasteWatch, Sodexo sites track and report their food waste daily on a central monitoring system. These might be generated from the kitchen, such as from overproduction or peel wastage, or might be post-consumption, when diners discard unfinished food. The staff member keys into the system the weight, type of food, type of wastage, and which food station or stall it came from.

Armed with reliable data, the staff adjusts the quantities and types of dishes served according to the popularity of the dishes and any other patterns that they spot.

If an office canteen tends to generate high amounts of uneaten food on Fridays, the staff will decide how and what amount to cut down on production for those days.

Staff can also record their waste reduction goals in WasteWatch, for instance if they are aiming to decrease rice wastage by 20 per cent in the next month. The system will then track the site's progress against these goals.