Food retailers spend money to send scraps to landfills: How to save these resources in your business

Insurmountable amounts of excess food, from perishables to canned foods to pet treats, find their way from the stores to the dumpsite each year. The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the amount of food ending up in landfills each year revolves around 66 million tons. Much lower but still considerable, the average Dutch amount of food discarded yearly was found to stand at 33.4kg in 2023. Approximately 2.6MN tons of food are lost every year in the Netherlands across the entire food chain, from production to consumption. Clearly, the abundance of choice that customers and stores have ultimately ends up having consequences for the population itself - though it is not immediately apparent at the end of a long product movement process across the chain.

Food waste isn't just an environmental issue, but an expensive challenge that cuts into the budgets of retailers of all sizes. Businesses in the food sector spend thousands managing and disposing of surplus goods, even if much of it is still usable. Whether due to oversupply or spoilage, these resources represent lost revenue and unnecessary expenses. What is often omitted is that businesses are essentially paying to discard valuable resources.

Fortunately, this trend can be reversed with a few cleverly implemented solutions, such as improved equipment, staff training, and a mindset shift toward waste as a recoverable resource. Let's discover together how businesses in the food sector can transform budget-wrecking waste into a valuable resource, obtaining money instead of throwing it away.

More innovative inventory management is key

One of the most effective solutions to cut down on waste is to implement more accurate and data-based systems for inventory management. There are numerous cutting-edge software products available today, specifically designed to empower businesses in tracking real-time sales data, monitoring stock aging, and predicting customer demand more accurately. This doesn't just help prevent buying more goods than are actually demanded, thus cutting down on excess inventory, but also improves product rotation.

With automated alerts that notify them about expiring items or unusual stock behavior, retailers can make informed decisions, such as adjusting orders or applying discounts, before the clock ticks and it's time to throw their products away. Smarter inventory doesn't just reduce waste, but also boosts efficiency and improves customer satisfaction by ensuring that store shelves are always stocked with fresh, in-demand products.

Repurposing and applying markdowns

To be suitable for regular sale, products must meet a range of strict criteria. Even if a good fails to meet them all, it doesn't mean it can't be repurposed and should be indifferently discarded. A pack of crushed biscuits makes the perfect base for a cheesecake. Bruised fruits can be used for smoothies or freshly cut snack packs. Baked goods nearing their expiration can be sold in bulk at steep discounts by day's end, while cold cuts and cheeses close to expiry can be repurposed into pizzas sold through the food chain.

This approach not only opens up new business opportunities but also converts potential losses into profit, albeit smaller, by creatively repurposing food. It benefits the community by offering affordable options, supports job creation, and significantly reduces the amount of food waste sent to landfills.

Food donations and reallocation

In the U.S., around 12% of the 14.5MN tons of food that could be donated actually gets donated, despite the rising food insecurity across the country. Businesses that don't take on such initiatives stand to miss out on numerous potential benefits, like tax incentives and liability protection. However, across the world, more businesses are now starting to implement strategies to donate food that's hardly or not sellable at all. It's a practical solution to handle surpluses responsibly and ethically. Rather than registering disposal expenses, retailers can partner with local charities or national food banks to donate unsellable but edible goods.

Besides reducing landfill waste, this operation can also yield tax benefits and enhance the business's reputation. Some redistribution organizations even provide donors with logistics support, making it easy for retailers to contribute regularly with minimal operational disruption. The process creates a win-win scenario: supporting food security in communities while lowering waste costs.

When food must be discarded

While the solutions above are among the most effective ways to combat food waste and reduce landfill overcrowding, some waste is still inevitable. Nevertheless, how that waste is managed makes a huge difference for modern businesses. Bulky volumes of food are consuming space, labor, time, and ultimately, money - as well as their containers. However, investing in equipment such as can crushers, waste balers, and compactors can significantly reduce these curfews and lower the costs of waste removal. A waste baler compresses recyclable materials, such as cardboard, plastic, and wrap, turning the material into manageable bales that can be stored or sold to recycling firms. At the same time, companies can get rid of metal cans, buckets, and barrels by using the Mil-tek A101, compacting the waste by up to 90%. All these solutions help retailers streamline their operations and reduce the frequency of waste collection services.

Meanwhile, waste compactors are designed for general waste and organic materials. They compress large volumes of trash into smaller, denser blocks, cutting on the number of pickups and saving on transportation fees. These improvements enhance cleanliness and safety, as compacted waste requires less space for disposal and reduces hazards such as pest infestations or fire risks. In operations with substantial packaging use and food waste, these machines become cost-effective by lowering usual expenses. Additionally, client-oriented companies not only sell such machinery but also rent it and offer training to employees, ensuring that the customer maximizes their investment.

Staff training

There's more to a reliable and profitable strategy to handle food waste than equipment and technology. Employees play a critical role in the outcome of your business's initiatives. Training staff to understand the importance of concepts like expiration labels and shelf rotation is a crucial early step in preventing significant amounts of food waste down the road. Empowering team members to suggest discounts or donation opportunities is also advantageous, creating a culture of accountability and sustainability.

When employees align with a company's food waste reduction goals, they become part of a more efficient and productive operation.

Food scraps are valuable sources that don't have to end up in landfills. With the right strategy, they can be transformed into cost-saving opportunities and community resources.