Research shows that 1.5 billion tons of food are wasted globally each year, with 19.1 million tons wasted in Turkey alone. Through the Responsible Restaurant Movement, a food waste cycle project, food waste is sent to compost and converted into fertilizer and pet food.
Research shows that 1.5 billion tons of food are wasted globally each year, with 19.1 million tons wasted in Turkey alone. Through the Responsible Restaurant Movement, a food waste cycle project, food waste is sent to compost and converted into fertilizer and pet food. This way, local production is supported, and animal shelters or street animals are provided with food.
Unfortunately, waste is significant in the food and hospitality industry. Leftover food on restaurant plates means both hungry people and animals are left unsatisfied! Believe me, I’m not exaggerating. All research on this topic supports this. When you examine food that has been returned from restaurants after 3-4 days, you can see how extensive the waste problem is.
Those who closely follow our Sustainable Living newspaper will remember. In previous issues, Olcay Silahlı, founder of Fazla Gıda, mentioned that waste is most prevalent in "all-inclusive" hotels, with fish products being the most commonly wasted. In restaurants, many of the garnishes served with meat and chicken end up in the trash.
When we spoke last year with Ali Akkaş, the pioneering figure of the Akkomarka Restaurant Group and Akkol Catering Group, he mentioned that they had mobilized to reduce waste in Köşebaşı Restaurants. They now offer garnishes with kebabs on a request basis and have trained all their staff.
Now, the Akkomarka Restaurant Group and Akkol Catering Group have launched a project covering all their restaurants. They have even invested in a composting facility. The group collects and sorts all waste from their restaurants and converts some of it into fertilizer and some into pet food.
They have also initiated the "Responsible Restaurant Movement" to spread these efforts across the industry.
The essence of their initiative is the "Food Waste Cycle" project. Under this project, food waste from all restaurants in the group is sent to compost, where it is transformed into fertilizer and pet food. Fertilizers support local producers, while pet food nourishes animals in shelters and on the streets.
Additionally, the products are distributed free of charge to guests at the restaurants. The group announced this initiative at their first address, Köşebaşı Restaurant.
Serkan Tüfek, CEO of Akkol Catering Group, discussed their efforts at the meeting: "We take this work very seriously. For a sustainable life, we need to move towards a frugal and efficient lifestyle. We have been working on how to implement this in our industry for a long time. Over the past four years, we have invested more than 50 million TL, and this will continue to grow. We will provide training to firms that want to join the initiative, teach them how to sort products, and then convert the waste into pet food or fertilizer, returning the products to restaurants for free distribution to guests. We are working to secure our future and seek support from all restaurants for this."
Waste is increasing
Elif Üngör, CQO of Akkol Catering Group, who aims to expand the Responsible Restaurant Movement, stated: "In 2023, Turkey saw 213 kilograms of food waste per person. This has increased by 40% in the past two years. In a world with such high consumption, we need to stop waste. Therefore, we are very eager to voluntarily explain the Food Waste Cycle to all restaurants and include them in this effort."
Produced pet food will go to HAYTAP
The new collaboration with HAYTAP will support feeding 2,000 small animals in shelters each month with the pet food produced.
Under the Responsible Restaurant Movement, the group's brands include Köşebaşı, Ken Sushi, Yaino Sushi, Snob Street Food, Ali Ocakbaşı, Perihan Meyhane, Ristorante Umberto, Akkol Catering, Geleneksel Lezzetler Durağı, Allday Artisan Catering, Deli Toastry, Deli Kitchen, and Safderun. Waste from these restaurants is sorted and collected, then sent to the composting facility. There, the waste is converted into fertilizer and pet food, which is distributed for free to guests at the restaurants. Additionally, the produced pet food, through the new partnership with HAYTAP, will support feeding 2,000 small animals in shelters each month.
Fertilizers for female farmers
Fertilizers are shared with farmers in Istanbul as part of the Responsible Restaurant Movement's strategy to support local producers.
Waste reduced by 35%
The first phase of the Responsible Restaurant Movement's "Food Waste Cycle" project focused on "Reducing at the Source" by providing preventive training to staff to reduce food waste during purchasing and production stages.
More than a thousand employees were trained by academics on sustainability and food waste.
Additionally, a measurement study showed that by serving garnishes based on preference, which constituted the most frequent waste returned from guests, food waste was reduced by 35% at the source.
Under the "Encourage to Reuse" principle, customers are encouraged to reuse and package any leftover food. The final step, "Ensure Recycling," involves converting the waste into fertilizer and pet food at the composting facility of the Responsible Restaurant Movement, which is then distributed for free to guests at participating restaurants and businesses. All pet food sent to shelters is also subjected to laboratory tests and nutritional analysis.
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