Complete Guide To Restaurant Waste Management

Types of Waste Restaurants Generate

Before you can manage your waste, you need to know what you're working with. 

Most restaurant waste falls into these categories:

• Food waste: Spoiled produce, uneaten meals, trimmings, over-prepped items.

• Packaging waste: Cardboard, plastic containers, glass bottles, aluminum cans.

• Grease and oil: Fryer oil, cooking fats, residues.

• Hazardous waste: Cleaning chemicals, broken kitchen equipment.

• Other: Broken appliances, textiles, paper goods, and bathroom waste.

Understanding the volume and makeup of your waste is the first step to reducing it.

Start With a Waste Audit

A waste audit doesn’t need to be complicated. 

Start simple:

• Track all the waste your restaurant produces over the course of a week.

• Separate it into categories (food, packaging, recyclables, etc.).

• Note where waste is being generated: prep station, storage, dining room, dish pit.

This will show you exactly where the biggest problems (and biggest opportunities) are.

Tackle Food Waste Head-On

Food waste is often the biggest (and most expensive) problem. 

Between 4% and 10% of all food purchased by restaurants is wasted, with much of it being edible and thus avoidable. That’s a huge hit to the bottom line.

Restaurants can lose up to 10% of their revenue due to food waste, as every discarded ingredient or unused dish represents money spent but not recovered through sales. 

For example, if a restaurant spends $1 million annually on food, wasting just 5% equates to $50,000 lost in food costs alone.

Here’s how to bring it under control:

• Use FIFO (First In, First Out) to make sure older stock is used first.

• Standardize portion sizes to avoid overserving.

• Track which dishes are frequently left unfinished. They might be too large or not quite hitting the mark.

• Repurpose ingredients: Turn beet greens into pesto or yesterday’s bread into croutons.

• Donate surplus food to local shelters or food banks, where safe and legal.

Small changes in the kitchen can save thousands in waste.

Sort and Separate Your Waste

Throwing everything into one bin is a missed opportunity.

Set up a clear sorting system with labeled bins for:

• Food scraps (for compost)

• Recyclables (paper, glass, cans)

• General waste (non-recyclables)

• Grease/oil

• Hazardous waste (cleaners, batteries)

Make sure bins are easy to access in the kitchen and FOH, emptied regularly, and never overflowing. Signage and color-coding help prevent mix-ups.

Explore Sustainable Disposal Methods

Not all waste needs to end up in a landfill. Here are better options:

• Recycling: Great for cardboard, bottles, and cans. Clean them first to avoid contamination.

• Composting: Ideal for food scraps, coffee grounds, and biodegradable materials.

• Grease recycling: Used oil can be turned into biodiesel.

• Waste-to-energy: Some facilities convert non-recyclable waste into usable energy.

Landfill should always be a last resort.

Comply With Regulations

Depending on where you’re based, there may be rules around food waste disposal, grease management, and recycling. 

For example:

• You may need to segregate food waste and keep disposal records.

• Grease traps often need to be cleaned and inspected regularly.

Check your local laws and make sure you’re up to speed. Fines for non-compliance can be steep.

Train Your Team (& Keep Training Them)

Even the best system won’t work if your staff doesn’t know how to use it. 

Build waste reduction into your onboarding and ongoing training:

• Show how to sort waste correctly.

• Explain why waste reduction matters (cost, environment, hygiene).

• Make someone accountable – like a sustainability lead.

• Keep it visible with signage, reminders, and regular updates.

When everyone’s on the same page, waste reduction becomes second nature.

Keep Odors and Contamination Under Control

Overflowing bins and funky smells aren’t just gross; they’re bad for hygiene, staff morale, and health inspections.

• Empty food waste bins every shift, or more often during busy periods.

• Seal bins tightly and keep lids closed.

• Clean bins regularly to avoid buildup.

• Monitor volume and adjust pickup schedules accordingly.

A clean waste area keeps pests and problems away.

Dumpster Rental vs Junk Removal: What’s Better for Restaurants?

Both services can help with waste, but which is better depends on your needs:

Most restaurants benefit from dumpster rentals for daily operations and junk removal for occasional deep cleans.

Invest in Technology and Partnerships

You don’t have to do this alone. The right tools and partners can help:

• Winnow or Leanpath: Track and reduce food waste with AI.

• Inventory systems: Automate FIFO and avoid over-ordering.

• Recycling/composting haulers: Handle the sorting and compliance.

• Food donation platforms: Connect surplus food with local charities.

Even simple tools like waste logs or labeled bins make a big difference.

Common Challenges (& How to Solve Them)

• Plate waste: Offer multiple portion sizes, promote doggy bags.

• Spoilage: Improve inventory rotation, avoid over-ordering.

• Order mistakes: Tighten up communication between FOH and kitchen.

• Over-prepping: Use historical data to forecast demand better.

• Lack of tracking: Start simple with a daily food waste log.