Whitbread PLC, the UK’s largest hotel and restaurant company, has announced that it is going to roll out an innovative food waste recycling scheme to over 300 of its hotels and restaurants during 2010 – saving over 2,000 tonnes of carbon emissions this year alone.

Whitbread will be using anaerobic digestion, a method which sees waste materials broken down by microorganisms, which is then transformed into green electricity and biofertiliser for local crops. This is widely recognised as one of the best methods for the sustainable management of food waste and has a dramatic impact in reducing greenhouse gases and carbon emissions.

The waste from Premier Inn, Beefeater Grill, Brewers Fayre, Table Table and Taybarns sites will be picked up by Veolia Environmental Services and then processed by specialist anaerobic digestion operators BiogenGreenfinch. It will be used to create renewable energy instead of going to landfill and will prevent over 2,000 tonnes of carbon emissions entering the atmosphere every year – equivalent to taking 750 cars off the road.

Alexandra Glenn, Waste & Recycling Procurement Manager for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants said: ‘Whitbread are leading the hospitality industry’s drive towards improving sustainable performance. One of our key targets is to achieve 80% of waste diverted from landfill from our hotels and restaurants by February 2012 and this will help us achieve that target with ease.’

Richard Barker, Chief Executive, BiogenGreenfinch said, “Anaerobic digestion is the greenest win for the commercial food industry. We applaud Whitbread for leading the way in its sector in diverting food waste from landfill and seeing it instead as a resource to create renewable energy.”

Tom Spaul, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer at Veolia Environmental Services said: “Food waste is a valuable resource and can be diverted from landfill to help make a positive contribution to the environment and help the UK’s drive for increased renewable energy sources. Recycling food waste is a growing area of waste management and we are pleased to be exploring its potential with Whitbread.”

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