How can restaurants reduce food waste?

by Craig Pryce July 01, 2025

Food waste in restaurants is a double cost. First, there's the cost of the wasted ingredients, and then there's the price you pay for commercial waste disposal.

Knowing how to reduce food waste in a restaurant is a hallmark of good management, a way to reduce expenses, to comply with regulations, and to be kinder to the environment.

For all of those reasons, this guide will explore restaurant food waste, some best-practice techniques to manage it, and attempt to answer the burning question: "How can restaurants reduce food waste?"

Why reduce food waste?

There are several good reasons to reduce restaurant food waste, including those we've already mentioned above:

Cutting restaurant food waste cost

Reducing the food waste restaurants produce cuts costs across the board, with fewer ingredients used, less wasted, and less spent on disposal of commercial food waste.

Meeting environmental obligations

Environmental laws, national regulations and local authority rules create a complex legal landscape for disposing of edible waste. Prevention is better than cure.

Better use of resources

More efficient use of ingredients has knock-on effects throughout the operation of a restaurant. Less freezer and chiller space is needed, fewer orders are placed with suppliers, and there's less risk of running out of a popular menu item.

Tips for reducing food waste

With those benefits in mind, let's look at how to reduce food waste in restaurants. This step-by-step action plan will help you to optimise your food waste disposal.

Some of these tips can be carried out independently of others, allowing you to make some quick gains with very little effort or upfront cost.

Conduct a food waste audit

A good first step is to conduct a food waste audit to see exactly what you are wasting. Make sure each type of food waste is placed in a different container and then count or weigh your waste at the end of each day or service. Itemise frozen, chilled, fresh and cooked waste from both the kitchen and from customers' leftovers.

Reduce portion sizes

If customers frequently leave some of their meal, you might be serving too much. Smaller portion sizes can also encourage diners to buy side dishes and desserts. If you reduce your serving sizes, remember to recalculate the calories on your menu, which can also appeal to health-conscious patrons.

Encourage reusable containers

Packaging is part and parcel of kitchen waste, and while some of it is unavoidable, switching to reusable containers wherever possible can make a big difference. Speak to your suppliers, as they might be willing to make the switch too, so that you get less single-use packaging in your stock deliveries.

Recycle materials

Recycling materials like plastic bottles, glass jars and metal cans can reduce your landfill costs. You can also 'recycle' edible ingredients, for example by offering chef's specials to use up any near-date stock. A focus on versatile ingredients in your stock list can maximise your options in this area.

Set up a compost bin

Invest in some dedicated wheelie bins for organic waste and you could be creating your own compost before you know it. If your restaurant has a garden, or even some grass, this is one way to dispose of leftovers without breaking any laws. Good-quality commercial wheelie bins are a great way to do this, as they keep everything well contained and can be secured against any unwelcome pests.

Restaurant waste laws and regulations

There's a long list of nationwide laws and legislation, and local authority regulations, that determine restaurants' obligations to manage and dispose of waste in certain ways.

A few of the main examples include:

Environmental Protection Act 1990
Food Waste Regulations 2009
Waste (England & Wales) Regulations 2011
The Waste Enforcement (England & Wales) Regulations 2018
Simpler Recycling Regulations 2025

The most recent of these, Simpler Recycling in England, came into effect on March 31st 2025 and require businesses with ten or more employees to separate and arrange appropriate collection of dry recyclables, food waste and residual (i.e. landfill) waste.

Even if you have less than ten employees, the previously existing legislation may apply to you, and it is important to know how the rules on restaurant food waste are relevant to your particular circumstances.

Get the right waste bins with Wheelie Bin Solutions

Now we have some ideas of how to reduce food waste in a restaurant, it's time to get the right equipment in place.

Wheelie Bin Solutions has a range of options, starting from 10l food caddies in black, brown, dark green and light green - perfect for separating different types of food waste during an audit, and for keeping meat and dairy apart from compostable vegetables and leftover cooked foods.

In addition to this, we have a full range of commercial wheelie bins, from 660 litres right up to 1280-litre metal bins, so no matter how much food waste your business generates, you can store it securely and hygienically until it is collected.

Craig Pryce

With over 17 years of experience in the waste and recycling industry, Craig is passionate about making recycling easier and reducing the negative impact of litter. He has been the managing director of Wheelie Bin Solutions (WBS) since January 2016, and prides the company on his expert knowledge, top-quality products, and customer service. His proudest moment was when WBS supported the 2012 Olympic Games, working in partnership with Contenur UK to supply over 9000 bin containers to all Olympic venues. Craig is always keen to share his knowledge, so whether you need advice about the benefits of a wheelie bin lock, or ideas for alternative uses for your wheelie bin, Craig will ensure your recycling and waste disposal habits are gold medal worthy.