Manchester’s restaurants take on food waste in bid to become UK’s greenest city

Attracting some of the biggest names from the sector, restaurants such as San Carlo, Rosso and The Mark Addy, have signed up to the food waste collection service, provided by the Green Chef.

As the ninth largest city in the UK, Manchester plays a significant part in the generation of seven million tonnes of food waste per annum in the UK.

Launched 18 months ago, the scheme utilises a number of different treatment processes ranging from in vessel composting to anaerobic digestion, both of which ensure 100% diversion from landfill.

Head chef at San Carlo Restaurant, Jason Annette, said: “Using a lot of fresh produce, it is important for us to recycle. As a business we not only feel responsible for ensuring our food is recycled, but also want to ensure that we are reducing our carbon footprint wherever possible.”

New research from the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA), released this week, revealed that food waste is one of the top issues which diners want restaurants to focus on.

The report, The Discerning Diner: How consumers’ attitudes to eating out have become more sophisticated, found that diners want to know more about how restaurants operate and more than half will pay more for a meal in a restaurant that is run sustainably.

Leigh Stringer