Restaurants across the United States are increasingly adopting food recycling programs as part of broader sustainability efforts to reduce landfill waste while improving operational efficiency. According to ReFED, U.S. restaurants generate approximately 11.4 million tons of food waste each year, costing operators more than $25 billion annually. ReFED estimates that the average restaurant discards between 25,000 to 75,000 pounds of food each year, 70% of which typically comes from dinersâ plates, creating an environmental challenge and an operational opportunity.
To address this growing challenge, operators across the U.S. are turning to Denali, the nationâs largest recycler of food and organic materials, to capture food scraps and leftover food and extend their value by converting them into renewable products, like compost, natural fertilizer and biofuel.
From Charleston, South Carolina, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, the restaurants below are part of a growing sustainability movement using food recycling programs to keep food from landfills, benefit communities and provide operational cost savings:
– Farm & Table
– MâTucciâs Restaurants
– ReRun Restaurants
âFor many operators, excess or leftover food has historically been treated as an unavoidable cost of doing business rather than an opportunity,â notes Laila Lakhani-Ali, executive vice president of commercial strategy & sustainability at Denali. âBy capturing uneaten food for composting, operators can reduce landfill waste, extend the life of food and demonstrate to guests that sustainability is built into how they run their business. Denaliâs scalable recycling solutions make it easy for restaurants to integrate landfill diversion into everyday operations without disruption.â
Industry research also shows that every dollar invested in food waste prevention can generate about $8 in savings, making waste reduction an environmental and financial win for restaurants. Across its three Charleston-area restaurants (Leonâs Oyster Shop, Little Jackâs Tavern and Melfiâs), ReRun Restaurants adopted food recycling in 2016. Their program incorporates collection bins from Denali and staff simply separate prep scraps and plate waste as part of their kitchen workflow.
âIt was eye-opening to see how much food waste we could keep out of the landfill,â says Adam Gainer, director of operations for ReRun Restaurants. âWe divert about two tons of food waste every month and send it to local composting facilities where farmers and growers turn it into soil amendments. Partnering with Denali made it easy to implement a program our team is proud of.â
MâTucciâs Restaurants launched its food recycling program this year. The Albuquerque company operates four family-friendly restaurants and a catering business and has long viewed sustainability as core to its mission.
âYears ago, our chef explored food recycling but found the costs prohibitive,â said Howie Kaibel, marketing director for MâTucciâs Restaurants. âThanks to Denali and Soilutions, we are successfully redirecting food scraps and keeping them out of the landfill. The program supports our company culture that includes a fourâday workweek for salaried employees, community tutoring initiatives and partnerships with local community groups.â