Meet the Restaurants Keeping Food out of Hong Kong's Landfills

Originally scheduled to come into effect from August 2024, Hong Kong’s proposed Municipal Solid Waste Charging Scheme has been pushed back following public criticism and concerns about operational details. "The hope was that if people needed to pay for designated rubbish bags, they would be more thorough with their waste, set out to reduce waste, and almost be forced to take recycling more seriously," explains Carla Martinesi, Founder and CEO of Hong Kong-based food-saving app CHOMP. "Unfortunately, the scheme has been delayed to mid-2025 and we are still awaiting updates on whether it will be moving ahead."

The Government says that its commitment to reducing municipal solid waste has not wavered; the focus is now on stepping up the promotion of waste reduction and recycling, expanding recycling facilities, assessing the readiness Hong Kong society and strengthening public education, all with a view to reporting progress to the Legislative Council in mid-2025. The Government is also conducting in-depth research on how to enhance the scheme, making it easier for both citizens and businesses to adapt and comply.  

While ensuring the success of this scheme is, course, important, Hong Kong’s food waste problem remains a critical issue. "The city does not have facilities large enough to process the amount of food that is discarded every day in Hong Kong," Carla tells us. In 2022, there were about 3,300 tonnes of food waste deposited in Hong Kong’s landfills every day; Carla says that the latest statistics suggest this daily figure has risen to 3,400 tonnes. "In 2023, 13 million bowls of rice were thrown away per day," she says.

"Hong Kong is a very 'on demand' city, with a big takeaway and delivery culture due to the lifestyle and because people's living space is often such that they do not have much kitchen space! That can lead to there being quite a lot of waste," says Graham Long, Executive Chef at East Hotel in Hong Kong.

"Hong Kong has a massive waste management problem," Carla continues. "More needs to be done by everyone to reduce these figures and, ultimately, to make more space in Hong Kong’s landfills – only two of the city’s 15 landfills still have space available."

We know that food waste in landfill generates high volumes of greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to biodiversity loss; we know that this is also a waste of money, time and all of the other resources that have gone into preparing that food — throughout the entire value chain, from water and energy to land use and transportation. 

We know, too, that the hospitality sector plays a significant role in generating this waste: almost one-third of Hong Kong’s food waste is generated by commercial and industrial sources, including restaurants and hotels. This provides the sector with a massive opportunity to tackle this issue on a city-wide scale. Already, some of Hong Kong’s hospitality businesses are forging ahead without waiting for legislative demands, becoming true leaders in the sector and paving the path for others to follow in their footsteps. With costs rising in Hong Kong across everything from labour to ingredients, and the cost-of-living crisis impacting how customers are spending, this is also a golden opportunity to save money and increase operational efficiency. 

This needs to be considered an investment, as Graham told us in a recent article. “Managing waste correctly may require initial investment and time, but having robust systems in place will help stock management, inspire you to make use of by-products and ultimately save you money in disposal and purchases in the long term.”  

“As key players in the hospitality industry, we have a responsibility to respect resources and reduce food waste, not only by recycling but also by preventing misuse of resources and upcycling waste products,” says Tony Wong, Executive Chef in JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong. “Proper food waste management contributes to a healthier planet and also improves operational efficiency.”

Let’s dive into some of the strategies that are most effective. 

“Prevention is better than cure"

Careful planning is essential to avoid the creation of waste. “Prevention is better than cure,” Tony points out. “My top advice in tackling food waste is to implement source reduction. In other words, plan ahead thoroughly with the team and review the food handling process regularly.” 

Sourcing strategies for waste reduction 

With that in mind, JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong sources with great attention to detail to ensure that their ingredients are always fresh and high-quality. They grow their own herbs in an on-site garden, meaning they can be picked as needed.

“We also work closely with local suppliers to source seasonal and high-quality ingredients, including vegetables, meats and seafood,” says Tony. “While also supporting the local economy, this reduction in transportation time also ensures that fresh produce is delivered in optimum condition and lowers the risk of damage caused during transportation, which can generate food waste.” Carla is in agreement. "I recommend putting seasonal and local ingredients on the menu to reduce carbon footprint and shipping costs."

Inventory management 

Diligent management of stock is crucial to ensure everything gets used before it goes out of date. The team at JW Marriott implements a rigorous inventory system and practices the ‘first in, first out’ method to track ingredient usage and shelf life. “This helps us avoid over-ordering and ensures ingredients are used before they spoil,” says Tony. 

"We have revolutionised our stock management and ordering systems to make sure we are not ordering too much of anything," says Graham. "We also divert off-cuts and secondary items to other departments in the team."

"My top tip is to curate a desirable limited menu that does not have an overwhelming amount of options," says Carla. "The more options on a menu, the larger the fridges need to be to stock all the possible ingredients. It becomes more difficult to predict what customers will choose to order, and in the end, much of the food reserved for the least popular items will be discarded."

Creative menu design 

As zero-waste Chef Vojtech Vegh pointed out in our recent interview, waste prevention needs to be top of mind when chefs are writing their menus, finding ways to incorporate every part of every ingredient into the dishes planned. This is something the culinary team at JW Marriott does with great creativity. “For example, pulverised grouper fish bones are blended with gluten-free flour to create handcrafted ‘fish bone fettuccine’, a signature dish at Fish Bar,” says Tony. “Our iconic and refreshing lemonade is made with the entire lemon including the peels, minimising wastage.” 

Portion control 

Reducing plate waste requires consistent oversight and the flexibility to adapt where necessary. At Sha Tin 18 restaurant in the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, they serve food through live cooking stations, adjusting portions to suit what guests actually want rather than loading plates in advance. They started tracking waste per plate in March 2023, aiming to reduce it by 20%; by the end of 2024, the team had already achieved an impressive 34% reduction. 

SImilarly the team at EAST Hotel has worked hard on their buffet concept to make more dishes on demand and served as small individual dishes, rather than on big trays of food. "This has helped us cut down on waste by around 15%," says Graham. 

Meanwhile, at JW Marriott’s Fish Bar, they offer flexible portion sizes, allowing guests to choose the option that best suits their appetite — a clever way to eliminate waste. “We also track what comes back to the kitchen to identify trends and adjust recipes or portions accordingly,” adds Tony. 

Last call: donating and recycling 

While following the waste hierarchy means that donating and recycling waste should be the last option, the reality is that some degree of waste is unavoidable on occasion. CHOMP is a valuable resource for Hong Kong's restaurants in dealing with this.

"CHOMP’s entire mission is to reduce food waste and make Hong Kong’s F&B sector more sustainable," says Carla. "Our platform has been designed by professionals who have first-hand experience of working in hospitality, and CHOMP has been designed in a way to make it easy for front-of-house teams to post their outlet surplus on the app." Through the app, CHOMP users can see what outlets are selling excess food at discount prices and choose to purchase a mystery box of the produce at discount prices, helping the business to make revenue on food that would otherwise be discarded.

Carla also recommends that businesses look into platforms like Breer (a start-up focusing on collecting surplus bread to make beer), Breadline (an NGO platform for people to volunteer to collect bread and bring it to homeless shelters) and EPD, HK’s official Environmental Protection Department, which constantly put out Food Wise campaigns to encourage the public to think twice about reducing food waste).

At JW Marriott, unavoidable leftovers are donated to local charities for communities in need. “We also participate in food waste recycling programmes to turn waste into energy or resources,” says Tony. “Oyster shells are recycled in partnership with The Nature Conservancy to restore shellfish reefs and benefit the nature.” 

Over at Sha Tin 18, they donate any surplus bakery items and vegetables to Food Angel for meal preparation, helping to provide fresh, nutritious meals for people in need. They also use Hong Kong’s Food TranSmarter system, which turns food waste into a slurry that can be turned into renewable energy and compost. Since 2023, they’ve been working with New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association to turn used coffee grounds into compost, plant pots and DIY decorations; in 2024, this initiative kept 3,013kg of coffee grounds out of landfill. 

Are you a hospitality business in Hong Kong with a commitment to sustainability and a desire to keep improving? Get in touch with Karen Finnerty at karen@thesra.org to talk about how the Food Made Good Standard can support your journey and celebrate your successes! 

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