On October 23, St. Petersburg has launched a food waste minimisation initiative at 10 public catering facilities (cafes and restaurants), aimed at discharging residuals. The experiment is within the scope of the national «Ecology» project.
The symbolic inaugural ceremony was attended by the head of the Clean Country project office of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment of the Russian Federation Vadim Petrov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Ecology and Environment, Nikolai Valuev, Vice Governor of St. Petersburg, Lyubov Sovershaeva, project coordinator, Natalya Belyaeva, restaurateur, Dmitry Blinov.
The representative of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment noted that the disposal of organic substances, which are natural resources, can be carried out both in the environment and with the help of special techniques.
“In Russia, about 17 million tons of food waste are generated annually. The project creating a mini-model of the cyclic economy in the restaurant sector is a step towards sustainable development. In addition, this is the opportunity to obtain recycled materials, which will be used as fuel, mineral fertilizers, food additives, especially in the agricultural sector,” said Petrov.
This project aims to bring together the restaurant business, waste processors and civil society in solving the problem of separate collection and reduction of food waste.
The project, which will to create a mini-model of a cyclic economy in this area, will focus on drawing a roadmap with practical recommendations towards recycling, the introduction of «green» solutions to reduce operating costs, and the implementation of alternative means for the recovery or re-use of the waste. In addition, the project stakeholders will work on identifying the means to introduce zero-waste practices in food processing industry.
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