6. Conclusions
The objective of this article was to review approaches to waste management in the foodservice industry with the aim to identify innovations and to discuss their implications for waste management. A key finding is that many companies are not actively innovating in the waste domain. They are however increasingly aware of the economic and social importance of waste management. Organizations taking waste management seriously might gain significant efficiency by partnering with third-party companies or by borrowing solutions from other industries that can be adapted to food service establishments relatively easily. On the downside, the foodservice industry is not leading the way when it comes to innovation. As the study shows, there are only a few low- or zero-waste restaurants, a few chefs who are creating meals with food scraps. This paper consequently provides managers with a set of tools (i.e., practices from several companies committed to adopting waste initiatives) to deliver a reflection-in-practice approach to waste issues pertaining to food service firms.
This lack of clear, common definitions and consistency across studies might be one of the reasons for which the foodservice sector lags behind other industries when it comes to food waste management. It also calls for tools and concepts to design the innovative practices supporting effective waste management systems. Future research may address such tools and concepts, as well as different types of innovations and sources of co-operation between collaborative firms and traditional food service organizations.
