4. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION
FOR BUSINESSES
A better SFP and food waste management is possible if hospitality businesses and the HKSAR Government take concerted action. Based on the findings, this chapter provides recommendations for hospitality businesses, the HKSAR Government and NGOs to resolve barriers and facilitate change in order to give the opportunity for the hospitality industry in Hong Kong to become the catalyst for change it can become.
Start now As mentioned by several of our respondents, improving an outlet’s sustainability and especially reducing food waste can be a long and arduous journey. One of our participants mentioned that they had been doing it for ten years, and that they were still thinking about how to go further in food and SFP waste reduction practices, so hospitality businesses considering improving the sustainability of their operations shouldn’t be discouraged by the long and bumpy road ahead. Instead, one thing that this research showed clearly is that the most important step on a sustainability journey is the first one. In two instances during the research, one week of segregating and measuring food waste influenced the habits of two outlets. One didn’t segregate nor measured food waste. After the measurement week, which showed that segregation and measurement were actually possible, the staff wanted to continue and to know what was the next step in improving the restaurant’s food waste management. The owner then decided to explore a community composting project with restaurants in the vicinity. Another participant was already segregating, but not measuring. After the measurement week, they started a food waste monitoring system in order to have a better idea of the food waste generated by the outlet.
WASTE DEEP AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE WASTE GENERATED BY THE HOSPITALITY
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