Restaurant Waste Facts
The restaurant industry is big business in the US with sales of around $1 trillion every year. Yet it also spends more than $160 billion on waste-related costs. Food is the main waste stream in restaurants, but they also create other types of trash, such as plastic, packaging, glass, and cardboard.
It’s estimated that there are between 750,000 and one million restaurants across the US (different calculations include cafes and other food service establishments). Around 70% of these are single-unit operations. What they all have in common is that each one produces various types of garbage and it all adds up.
We’re here to serve up some unhealthy restaurant waste facts and statistics that highlight problems in the industry and why reducing trash in them is so important. Tuck into these appetizing restaurant waste facts and statistics.
How much waste does a
restaurant produce?
The average restaurant wastes between four and 10% of all food inventory they purchase. It can be due to spoilage, leftovers, and other reasons. Diners at restaurants in the US leave an average of 17% of their meals. Unless they take these leftovers home, this becomes food waste for disposal.
Research estimates that the average restaurant creates between 50,000 and 75,000 pounds of trash every year. However, every restaurant is different in size, style, and how it’s run. These factors affect how much waste each one produces, so it’s hard to gauge precise amounts.
Restaurant waste statistics
There are three main sources of waste in any restaurant. These are down to ordering and inventory processes, food preparation and storage, and customer habits and consumption. Most of these affect food waste levels in restaurants but they can also impact packaging, plastic, and glass waste.
Alongside all the trash thrown away by restaurants, there’s also the financial impact. Overordering, food spoilage, and waste management all incur avoidable costs. Reducing waste helps protect the environment but also saves your restaurant money. These restaurant waste statistics highlight such issues:
- Restaurants in the US spend $162 billion on waste-related costs, which include food, packaging, trash collection and disposal
- 75% of food wasted in restaurants is edible
- Full-service restaurants produce seven million tons of waste annually at a cost of $16 billion
- Limited-service restaurants produce four million tons of trash every year at a cost of around $9 billion
- Kitchen preparation is the biggest source of waste food in restaurants – due to overproduction, peelings and cuttings, and expired or damaged food
- The amount customers spend in restaurants that they don’t eat accounts for 14% of their annual food-at-home spending
- Nearly half (42%) of restaurants now use inventory management software to reduce waste
How much food does
a restaurant waste?
Restaurants in the US create between 22 and 33 billion pounds of food waste every year, according to the National Restaurant Association. The amount of waste food each restaurant creates varies depending on their size, operations, processes, and other factors. Many are taking steps to reduce food waste at the source.
Between 30 and 40% of food goes to waste that’s served to customers in restaurants as it’s not eaten. It’s estimated that restaurants are responsible for around 15% of all food waste in the USA. How much food waste restaurants waste can also increase over the holiday season, summer, and other busy periods.
Restaurant food waste statistics
Food is the biggest waste stream in the restaurant industry. Preparation, spoilage, and plate waste are the main sources of waste food in restaurants of any size, style, and location across the country. The number is always changing but restaurants in the US create more than 10 million tons of waste food every year.
These are some more unhealthy restaurant food waste statistics:
- 85% of waste food in restaurants is thrown away with the rest donated, composted, or recycled
- Restaurant food waste accounts for 15% of waste food in landfills
- Every meal served in a restaurant creates half a pound of food waste on average
- Full-service restaurants create almost six million tons of waste food every year
- Limited-service restaurants are responsible for around 5 million tons of food waste
Restaurant plastic waste statistics
Another big waste stream in restaurants is plastic. This is mainly from packaging such as bags and wraps for ingredients and single-use plastic items such as cutlery, plates, straws, and cups. Plastic is harder to recycle than many other types of trash and takes hundreds of years to break down so reducing plastic use in restaurants is important.
Understand the scale of the problem with these restaurant plastic waste statistics:
- Restaurants in the US produce 11 million tons of plastic waste each year, according to the EPA
- Takeout orders generate around 20 million tons of plastic waste from cups, plates, cutlery, and straws
- Americans use more than 560 billion plastic utensils every year
Reduce waste in your restaurant
Have these restaurant waste stats made you realize how much trash your eatery creates? At Business Waste we want to help restaurants in the US reduce their food, plastic, packaging, and other waste streams to protect the environment and save you money.
That’s why we offer waste audits to assess your current operations and advise on areas and methods to reduce restaurant waste at the source. We also provide a wide range of dumpsters to segregate trash types and improve your commercial recycling to eliminate and minimize the amount sent to landfill.
Discover more about our restaurant waste services and speak to one of our friendly team if you have any questions. Get started with a free no-obligation quote for waste collection, disposal, and recycling from your restaurant in the US today – call 888 584 2118 or contact us online.
Read more waste fact guides
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Recycling facts
Explore some facts and statistics about recycling in the USA and from around the world.
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