Hotel and restaurant company Whitbread plans to cut its CO2 emissions by 2,000 tonnes a year with the introduction of a new food waste recycling scheme.
Whitbread, which owns Premier Inn hotels and a number of restaurant chains including Beefeater, aims for 80% of the waste from its hotels and restaurants to be diverted from landfill by February 2012.
Instead of being sent to landfill, the food will be used to create renewable energy. Microoganisms break down leftover food, producing gas which can be used to make electricity. The solid waste can be used as biofertiliser for crops.
The scheme will initially be rolled out to 300 hotels and restaurants this year, preventing more than 2,000 tonnes of carbon emissions entering the atmosphere - the equivalent to taking 750 cars off the road.
According to Alexandra Glenn, waste and recycling procurement manager for Whitbread Hotels and Restaurants said: ‘This will help us achieve that target with ease.'
www.whitbread.com