Sustainable Practices for the Organic Waste Management …
813
Parallel to the collection of waste, an explanation was made to the workers about
composting technique as an alternative for waste recovery. Concepts about the technique, types of residues that can be composted, and demonstration of composting
were approached, and employees were also invited to visit the small-scale composting area of Ifes.
(4) Proposing actions to improve the sustainability of the restaurant.
After the initial evaluation, wastes’ collection and sampling, possible actions were
identified to contribute with restaurant’s sustainability, which will be presented in
a next stage, to those responsible for the management of the restaurant, and their
employees.
3.1 Main Results
After a first visit at the restaurant under study, information about its solid waste
management was collected. At this stage it can be verified that most of waste produced
was discarded, without adding value. Only cooking oil was separated and donated
to an institution which makes soap, something that demonstrated the interest of
the restaurant’s manager in promoting sustainable actions, that also can be allow
economic return to the company.
It was identified that most of the wastes were generated in the period between
11 a.m. and 2 p.m., withdrawn for collection in containers at 4 p.m. and collected
between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Both container volumes and accumulation storage time,
as well as accumulation storage local, were considered appropriate.
In relation to internal containers for waste, these also were considered adequate.
They were close to the employees’ (in the preparation of meals), and in the customer
service area to dispose of the waste produced. It is important to note that restaurant
did not have a fixed menu, which made it difficult to analyze types of waste generated,
so, it was choose a more general analysis, as mentioned in the previous section.
Regarding the perception of the employees about the waste management, it was
verified that since the restaurant did not have a systematic plan to minimize waste,
segregation and valorization, these actions were not perceived by the employees as
important for their activities. This highlights the importance of a management that
aims at minimizing and adding value to the solid waste generated, including organic
waste.
In the sampling stage, a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the generated
residues it was performed, as shown in Table 1 and Fig. 11.
About the types of residues generated and their quantities, it can be verified that
residues of cooked foods (both self-service food station and dishes) represented
the highest percentage among collected residues (46.4%) (Table 1), evidencing the
occurrence of wastage in food production (by the restaurant management) and/or
consumption (by customers).
813
Parallel to the collection of waste, an explanation was made to the workers about
composting technique as an alternative for waste recovery. Concepts about the technique, types of residues that can be composted, and demonstration of composting
were approached, and employees were also invited to visit the small-scale composting area of Ifes.
(4) Proposing actions to improve the sustainability of the restaurant.
After the initial evaluation, wastes’ collection and sampling, possible actions were
identified to contribute with restaurant’s sustainability, which will be presented in
a next stage, to those responsible for the management of the restaurant, and their
employees.
3.1 Main Results
After a first visit at the restaurant under study, information about its solid waste
management was collected. At this stage it can be verified that most of waste produced
was discarded, without adding value. Only cooking oil was separated and donated
to an institution which makes soap, something that demonstrated the interest of
the restaurant’s manager in promoting sustainable actions, that also can be allow
economic return to the company.
It was identified that most of the wastes were generated in the period between
11 a.m. and 2 p.m., withdrawn for collection in containers at 4 p.m. and collected
between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Both container volumes and accumulation storage time,
as well as accumulation storage local, were considered appropriate.
In relation to internal containers for waste, these also were considered adequate.
They were close to the employees’ (in the preparation of meals), and in the customer
service area to dispose of the waste produced. It is important to note that restaurant
did not have a fixed menu, which made it difficult to analyze types of waste generated,
so, it was choose a more general analysis, as mentioned in the previous section.
Regarding the perception of the employees about the waste management, it was
verified that since the restaurant did not have a systematic plan to minimize waste,
segregation and valorization, these actions were not perceived by the employees as
important for their activities. This highlights the importance of a management that
aims at minimizing and adding value to the solid waste generated, including organic
waste.
In the sampling stage, a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the generated
residues it was performed, as shown in Table 1 and Fig. 11.
About the types of residues generated and their quantities, it can be verified that
residues of cooked foods (both self-service food station and dishes) represented
the highest percentage among collected residues (46.4%) (Table 1), evidencing the
occurrence of wastage in food production (by the restaurant management) and/or
consumption (by customers).