You’re probably aware that Waverley Council is expanding its trial Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) residential collection service. But did you know that Council also worked with End Food Waste Australia and nine beach front cafés at Bronte to reduce food waste and minimise landfill through a commercial organics collection trial?
This month, on the blog, we hear from local café owner Fern from Coop about what she learned and some of the benefits of bringing sustainable and circular practices into local food businesses.
Hi Fern, please tell us a little about Coop cafe?
Coop has been a Bronte Beach hang out spot since we first opened in summer of 2021. My purpose was to create an inclusive, vibrant and loving environment that thrives off connection - whether that be with our loyal locals or fleeting moments with travellers. The Coop culture is all about providing a consistently enjoyable dining experience that is laid back, friendly and welcoming.
Why should sustainability matter to a café in Bronte?
Honestly, sustainability should matter to everyone. At Coop, we have made choices that positively impact our footprint, simply because we care about the earth and the environment. We source seasonal and local produce, we work with EcoBarista for our branded compostable single use coffee cups. We also encourage customers to purchase our keep cups or use our “boomy” mugs, where they can borrow a mug for their coffee to take to the beach and bring back once devoured and re-energised. Our coffee roaster, Madding Crowd, delivers and stores our coffee in 10KG reusable swag bags, which is a huge reduction in packaging waste considering we use between 60-70KG of coffee per week.
Being located across from one of the most dreamy beaches in the Eastern suburbs (if not all of the east coast... I’m obviously bias), it’s a no-brainer to want to care and keep the beauty of this environment.
Why did you agree to be part of the End Food Waste Australia trial and was it easy to divert food waste?
Testing food waste reduction hacks and trialing food organics separation and collection felt like the logical next step for us in our sustainability journey. Organic waste produces methane, which is 28 times as potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. So, minimising and repurposing organic waste significantly reduces greenhouse emission impacts. I mean, the majority of us are already practising this at home, so it was just a matter of flowing this into the workplace.
The easiest part of the trial was the separation itself - you really only have to separate the napkin and cutlery off the plate and the remainder goes straight into the organics bin. And in the kitchen, the chefs simply place their food scraps into the organics bin instead of the general waste bin. A rather simple change of habit that has huge benefits.
How did your staff react to the trial?
As with most change, there was definitely a transitional period where the team had to adjust their habits, but this didn't take long, as Council and End Food Waste Australia provided clear communication and signage to help.
The Coop team knew they were doing the right thing in adapting this practice in the workplace. They were proud to be part of the trial, and everyone felt massively satisfied knowing that they were doing their part for the environment and for the planet.
What are your key takeaways from the trial?
Separating the food waste allowed us to see exactly where our organic waste was coming from. One huge chunk was from the coffee wastage we had per week, we're talking 60kgs of coffee ground, that can have many uses, like fertiliser, mulch and non-toxic pest deterrent. During my time working at a cafe on the Central Coast, we used to bag up used coffee grounds for customers/locals to take home for their garden or compost.
I tried to implement this when I first opened Coop, but unfortunately we had no bites on the free bags of grounds. This is likely due to the size of yards in Sydney as not everyone has access to a compost system, so it just isn’t as functional and desired here.
The trial also helped us understand what the high waste food items during food prep were, and what was being wasted by our customers. With this information, we can adjust our menu to reduce future food waste before it is created and/or see if we can use this waste elsewhere.
Do you think reducing food waste can help businesses save money?
Absolutely. Through using the organics bin, we were able to drop an entire general waste bin out of our daily collection. So, it isn’t a matter of adding another bin but diverting that waste from one to another. The organics bin itself is only a few dollars more per lift, which is a small price to pay for a sustainable alternative and knowing that we are doing the right thing for the future of our planet. At this point it's almost cost neutral and extremely manageable for businesses.
Separating food waste also allowed us to understand where the waste was coming from and reduce how much food we were wasting in the first place. This helps businesses save money, as every plate of food wasted is a hit to revenue.
So, what’s next?
The main take away from this experience was that separating food waste is super easy, it’s necessary and everyone (both residents and businesses) should be doing it. Currently in NSW, organic waste in landfills generates over 3 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually, which is more than half our total landfill emissions. Reducing the amount of food waste going to landfill is a high priority task that we can all foster to reduce our impact on climate change and our future on earth.
The trial showed us we can significantly reduce food waste, effectively separate and adapt our prep and practices to save costs and greenhouse emissions. In NSW, food businesses will have to have commercial organics collections in place by 2030 and it’s good to know our team will be ready to go when the mandates roll out.
We are now also looking at alternative options for our organics waste, such as Reground, to find better local uses for our coffee grounds.
How can I get involved?
For a business, the best way to get started is to understand where your waste is coming from. End Food Waste Australia has developed a series of Sector Action Plans to help cafes, caterers, bakers and restaurants see where they're wasting the most food and implement practical solutions to reduce it. You can also check out the worlds largest marketplace for surplus food, Too Good To Go, or food diversion organisations like OzHarvest.
For those looking to reduce food waste at home, The Great Unwaste has many handy storage tips and fun ways to spruce up your leftovers! Also, check out Compost Revolution for up to 70% off home composting and worm farming equipment (suitable for both yards and apartments) and keep an eye out for FOGO updates.