REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE – SUSTAINABILITY COCKTAIL SERIES: JUNE

Heidi Spurrell | 9th June 2021 | 4min read

Laura Offe from Meraki hospitality group (left) Heidi Spurrell from Food Made Good (middle) and Tim Parker from Circular City (right)

By Sarah-Jane Tucker

Food Made Good was welcomed at Uma Nota yesterday for our sustainable cocktail series meet-up this month, as we dived straight into the detail of reducing waste within the hospitality sector to tackle the challenge head on. In addition to the beautiful venue for our monthly meet-up, the Uma Nota team prepared a delicious vegetarian and vegan spread for us to nibble on while we listened to the informative presentations that afternoon. From mouthwatering eggplant tempura’s, vibrant vegetarian ceviche’s to the infamous “Heavenly” pandan, coconut & lime drink, it was truly a delicious set-up.

(Top to bottom): Uma Nota’s delicious food options, Uma Nota’s specifically designed menu, Up close and personal with the food & menu

WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES

The waste management facilities of Hong Kong are poor compared to other developed territories in the region, yet we still generate a whopping 11,000 tonnes of waste each day. That is double the amount generated by Tokyo, yet, according to G.R.E.E.N. Hospitality, Hong Kong depends upon just three waste facilities and currently holds the capacity to recycle less than 2 percent of all that is produced. Today’s international recycling market is weak and since demand from previous consumer countries has all but dried up, local facilities are facing further strain. This puts us all under pressure to prevent materials going to waste in the first place. Recycling only looks like a good option when pitted against landfill disposal, so we need to rethink our use of not only plastic but any single use items in our establishments, starting with prevention first we can work down the waste triangle.

HEARING SOLUTIONS FROM OUR SPEAKERS

Will Bray, Director of environmentally conscious wine brand Sea Change Wines, invited us to sample his delicious wines during the evening, while explaining the impact a venue can make by opting towards sustainable wine choices. The world consumes a staggering twenty five billion bottles of wine per year, yet by reducing the plastic found in packaging, selecting plastic free corks and reducing the emissions made from glass, Sea Change Wines can reduce emissions by 25% per bottle; an environmental win worth raising a toast for, without the need to change consumer behaviour.

Interactive Sustainable Wine Question

Yanina Pilgrim & Chef Richard Ekkebus

Laura Offe from Meraki Hospitality Group shared their inspiring catch up story, which gave us all a living example of how an organisation can commit to sustainable policies and take retrospective steps to introduce more sustainable waste practices in the business. The highlight of their change program has been the introduction of the Nordaq water filtration system, which costs the same as it would to supply the restaurant with bottled water, yet saves on valuable food storage space and eliminates the need for water bottle waste or recycling.

Janice Chan from Informa markets (left) Heidi Spurrell from Food Made Good (middle) Laura Offe from Meraki hospitality (middle) and Diego Dultzin from Phenix (right)

Finally Tim Parker, from Circular City talked about his commitment to bring sustainability to the forefront of design and the launching of a pilot program to try out a new collection of reusable commercial tableware customers will essentially borrow, when they make a food purchase from any participating outlet. Food shoppers in Discovery Bay will be able to hire their tableware with the swipe of a card this summer and then drop off their dirty dishes at any one of the conveniently located drop off points. Customers get to see the number of emissions they have saved the planet by using the service, as well as the collective impact the scheme is making each time they pop in their service card. The outlets restock on freshly cleaned tableware, just as soon as the dispensing system registers they are getting low. This is the chance for Tim to show the city of Hong Kong that it really does pay to choose to reuse.

Tim Parker presenting

The sustainability meet-up series is a monthly gathering designed to educate and empower the Hong Kong foodservice community – chefs, restaurateurs, FOH, BOH, suppliers and sustainability leads.

Inspired by our framework, the programme is curated to inspire the community, in novel ways through which they can bring in small but significant changes to their sourcing choices, menu design and supplies. We organise talks delivered by sustainable food industry leaders, on various themes linked to UN International Days and our three pillars – Sourcing, Society and the Environment.

There was so much to learn from our speakers this month. A big thank you to them all and again: to Laura Offe and the team at Uma Nota for being wonderful hosts, Will Bray, and Tim Parker. We also want to thank InvestHK for their continued support at our monthly sustainable meet-up series.

Stay tuned for upcoming member events.