Management of hospitality food waste and the role of consumer behavior

Due to the increasing popularity of out-of-home food consumption, hospitality enterprises contribute significantly to food waste generation. Despite this contribution, little is known about the exact magnitude of hospitality food waste, its drivers and approaches to mitigation. This limited knowledge hinders the progress of the sector toward its sustainability goals. This chapter explores the phenomenon of hospitality food waste in the United Kingdom. Through in-depth interviews with managers of casual dining restaurants in London, it establishes the magnitude of food waste as significant. This notwithstanding, UK hospitality enterprises fail to adopt preventative approaches to food waste mitigation, relying on reactive disposal practices instead. Unpredictable customer demand, irresponsible consumer behavior, and the lack of governmental support in the redistribution of surplus food are identified by the industry professionals as prime barriers. Drawing upon the findings of this study and literature review, recommendations are put forward on how these barriers could be addressed.