Several Ghent restaurants are being equipped with smart scales. Restaurants will be able to place their waste containers on these scales to get a better idea of how much food is thrown away in their establishment. The smart scales are a joint initiative of the Artevelde University of Applied Sciences and the City of Ghent.
The ‘food waste monitor’ was unveiled today. The idea comes from Artevelde University that has a programme on sustainable food.
"The smart scales project is a very simple way of getting a better idea of how much food businesses are throwing away. Restaurant owners place their waste container on the smart scales and find out how much food waste there is. The system doesn’t involve any extra work for the restaurants. They can operate as usual and throw away waste in their container bin. This can be residual waste from the restaurant or excess food that has been purchased," explains researcher Claire Maréchal of Artevelde University.
After a certain time, the restaurant will get information and see how much ended up in the bin. "It can teach restaurants a lot. For example, they may see that a lot of buns have to be thrown away, or that they purchased too much of certain products. They can then use that knowledge when making fresh purchases,’ the researcher adds.
The City of Ghent is looking for restaurants to join the project and will also finance the coaching of restaurant owners who take part.