Doncaster restaurants could save thousands by recycling their food waste

Pubs, restaurants, cafés and takeaways across South Yorkshire could save thousands of pounds on their waste disposal costs by ditching landfill and opting to recycle their food waste instead. That’s the advice of Philip Simpson, commercial director of ReFood, which operates one of Europe’s most advanced anaerobic digestion (AD) facilities in Doncaster

After all, with the average UK restaurant said to throw away more than eight tonnes of food every year (equivalent to the weight of an African Elephant), and landfill tax set to reach £104 p/t in April, businesses are being held hostage by extortionate and unnecessary costs. As well as being better for the environment, recycling food waste avoids landfill tax and could see businesses slash their disposal costs in half.

Philip commented: “With almost 600 food service businesses registered in Doncaster alone, the region is throwing away more than £460,000 – money that would otherwise go straight to the bottom line. At a time when every penny counts, it makes complete financial sense to embrace more innovative waste management solutions.

“As well as being expensive, it’s important to remember that food waste left to rot in landfill is bad for the environment too. It emits harmful greenhouse gases considered 21 times more damaging than CO2.

“Food waste recycling is a far greener solution, as uneaten food still has plenty of value. First of all, it can be used to generate renewable energy, which reduces the need for fossil fuels like oil and coal. What’s more, the by-product of the process can be repurposed as a biofertiliser – in essence a more environmentally-friendly version of traditional chemical fertilisers that can help increase local agricultural yields.”

“There really is no drawback – it’s cheaper than landfill, better for the environment, easy to implement and quick to set up regular collections. At ReFood, we even offer a ‘bin swap’ service as standard, where we take away your full bins and replace them immediately with clean, sanitised, empty ones.”

ReFood works with businesses across Doncaster and the wider Yorkshire area to slash overheads and deliver a positive environmental impact.