Catering Scotland

What follows is a quick overview on how you can run your kitchen more sustainably, reducing the use of resources but never sacrificing the quality of your service.

Ventilation

Good kitchen ventilation is essential but does not need to be turned on full at all times. Variable speed fans should always be used at a speed sufficient to keep the kitchen free of cooking fumes and vapour. Ensure filters are cleaned regularly to increase the efficiency of the extraction system.

Cleaning

Use refillable spray containers and buy cleaning products in bulk. When purchasing cleaning equipment, check whether consumables such as filters and dust bags can be cleaned and reused. Review your cleaning regime to see if there are ways of reducing water use and waste. Ensure staff comply with any changes to reduce your environmental impact.

Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 

Since 1st January 2014, businesses have been required present metal, plastic, glass, paper and card for separate collection to comply with the Waste (Scotland) Regulations. Those which produce over 50kg of food waste per week also need to present food waste for separate collection from this date.

Cooking equipment

Ensure staff know how long it takes equipment to reach the required temperature, so they do not turn equipment on early and waste energy. Effective signage can remind them of this. Cooking at lower temperatures usually means lower cost, less shrinkage, less loss of nutrients and better quality food.

Refrigeration

Refrigeration can account for up to 70% of your energy bill, so consider replacing old equipment with more energy-efficient models. Place fridges and freezers away from cookers, and keep cold room doors closed to prevent the equipment working harder. Refrigeration should be organised so that only the minimum number of refrigerators are operated at any one time.

Staff engagement 

Increasing staff awareness can lead to better morale, lower running costs and positive environmental impacts. You could potentially save up to 10% of your energy bill simply through better education of employees. Support for running a staff engagement campaign is available online at www.resourceefficientscotland.com/staff-engagement-toolkit

Environmental policy

Displaying your business’s environmental policy promotes a commitment to comply with legislation and to manage the environmental effects of your operations. This helps guide your staff and encourages them to take environmentally responsible actions in their everyday work.

Macerators

As part of the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012, disposal of food waste into the sewers using macerators and waste disposal units will be banned from 1st January 2016.

Water minimisation

Instead of cleaning fruit and vegetables under a stream of running water, it is more efficient to place them in a sink of water.

Paper towels

Where possible, replace paper towels with high-efficiency hand dryers. Where paper towels must be retained, ensure they are separately collected for composting.

Visit www.resourceefficientscotland.com or call free on 0808 808 2268 for more information.