Samenvatting

As food waste contributes to being a social, economic, and environmental problem, more research is needed for the prevention and management of food waste in food service enterprises. Thus, this report was written to gain more information about how the prevention and management of food waste and how this could be improved. For the scope of this research, small Dutch food service enterprises are examined. The central question in this research is “How to improve food waste prevention and food waste management of small Dutch food service enterprises?”. This question is important to get more insight into the different methods regarding food waste management, how food waste occurs and how it is prevented, and how food waste management methods can be improved when applicable. The research methods that have been used during the report are field research, desk research, qualitative research, and the use of primary and secondary data.
The results from the interviews reflect that all three restaurants apply several measures to decrease or prevent food waste, such as the reuse of leftover parts, the separation of waste, and the application of food waste management methods. However, the research showed that the implementation of alternative food waste management methods is not without exceeding difficulties. All three restaurants face several obstacles to implement or improve food waste management. These difficulties include the mentality of the owners and employees towards food waste management, the estimation of avoidable food waste, the collection of separated waste by the municipality, and the application of alternative food waste management methods. Additional research has been conducted for more adequate suggestions regarding these implications. These results suggested multiple ways on how to manage food waste, as well as the prevention thereof.
This led to the conclusion that the improvement of food waste prevention and food waste management is feasible with applicable adjustments and considerations regarding the difficulties that might occur. Suggestions that restaurants should consider for improving their food waste prevention and management include portioning meals, consistently separating (organic) waste, participating in projects that reuse waste, and implementing a (different) waste framework for waste management. A new waste framework has been developed for restaurants to consider when wanting to improve their food waste prevention and food waste management. It is recommended to do follow-up research on how the implementation of alternative food waste management methods affects small food service enterprises.