Edinburgh-based wholesaler Mark Murphy Dole has reduced its food waste by 33% following a collaborative project with the Scottish Wholesale Association (SWA) and Zero Waste Scotland.
The six-month project in autumn 2023, focused on four steps to tackling food waste: assessing its existing food waste data; measuring its food waste; analysing the findings; and developing a plan of action.
The fresh produce wholesaler said its findings revealed an unexpected opportunity to save money by reducing food waste.
It discovered that over one month, the business was wasting 1.62 tonnes of food, which is equivalent to 19.5 tonnes per year, identifying savings of £11,877.
However, the true cost of this food waste was estimated to cost the business £61,000 per year when considering all associated costs such as purchasing and handling.
As part of the project, the wholesaler introduced a ‘Green Champion’ programme focusing on food waste training and staff engagement. The project has resulted in a 32% decline in contamination of the general waste stream, compared to the previous year, and a 5% improvement in recycling rate.
Cora Allen technical co-ordinator at Mark Murphy Dole commented on the wholesalers’ food waste results: “Even with procedures in place to reduce food waste, we found that if efforts are not made to shift the culture to match, then the effectiveness of these procedures will be limited. Training and staff engagement helped us change this, and its effects are not limited to the workplace. Our Green Champions report that following training, they started to consider ways to reduce food waste in their homes too.
“Working with Scottish Wholesale Association and Zero Waste Scotland on this food waste reduction project has given me the opportunity to develop my understanding of the barriers and limitations halting sustainable progress within commercial businesses in the food industry sector.”
Ylva Haglund SWA head of sustainability and engagement, commented on the collaboration: “These fantastic results show what’s possible when a business commits to measuring and monitoring their waste, and looks to tackle it in a holistic way, making sure that all relevant policies and processes help promote food waste reduction.”
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