Waste Management Of A Fast Food Restaurant Environmental Sciences Essay

Schroeder (2007) explains operations management is a part of business that is concerned with the production of goods and services, and employs the task of ensuring that business operations are efficient and effective. It is also concerned with the management of resources and the distribution of goods and services to customers. Naylor (2002) says that operations management is the study that focuses on the effective planning, scheduling, employing, and controlling of a manufacturing or service organisation with the help of concepts from quality management, production management, inventory management, accounting, and other functional areas as they affect the organisation. The organization is basically a fast food restaurant and it is not possible to completely eradicate the waste, but lot of waste is a problem. Minimisation is the best and most cost-effective solution by changing operational activities in the organization. The organization is basically a fast food restaurant and it is not possible to completely eradicate the waste, but lot of waste is a problem. Minimisation is the best and most cost-effective solution by changing operational activities in the organization. According to Dr Jones, an anthropologist at the University of Arizona’s Bureau for Applied Research in Anthropology:

“Huge amounts of food are being wasted throughout the industry. A proportion of this waste is inevitable, but a large part of it can be eliminated and lead to increased profit, not only through cutting losses but also through increasing efficiency.”

The organization has adapted the principals of HACCP, hazard analysis critical control point, which the European Union has issued for food hygiene and to help adopt a risk based safety management system. This Regulation with no option has to be implemented in the fast food industries (EU, 2004). This prohibits the organization to use the expired food to be used because this is illegal in the eyes of law. The research looks at the decision of forecasting the overestimation of the food by the operation managers at times. This expired food can no longer be used and it turns into waste without providing any profit but just the loss to the organization. Thus, managers seek to balance the cost of carrying high stocks with the risk of waste or non-service after a stock out and should understand the importance of inventory management (Silver et al, 1998). Control can be expensive and invasive for those engaged in the tasks. The manager, therefore, must understand how control can be exercised as well as how much is needed (ibid). Operational activities need to be monitored and controlled so that they can achieve their targets in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and, where appropriate, equity (Wild, 1991). According to Johnston et al (2006), operations management is concerned with the production of good and services and it involves the responsibility of ensuring that business operations are effective and efficient.

The seven principles of HACCP:

1. List of all potential hazards

Few potential hazards are associated with each step, conduct a hazard analysis, and also consider any measures to control the identified hazards. The HACCP team should conduct a hazard analysis to identify the hazards and also to know which hazards are of such a nature that their elimination or reduction is essential to acceptable levels for the production of safe food. The following principles should be included in conducting the hazard analysis wherever possible:

The likely occurrence of significant hazards

The qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the presence of hazards

Multiplication of microorganisms is needed to be closely observed

Production or continuous in foods of toxins, chemicals or physical agents.

2. Determine critical control points

This step is used for the determination of critical control points in the production points in the production process. If this subsequent step further used in the production

Process can eliminate the hazard or to reduce it to an acceptable level, if the answer is yes than we can say that it is not a CCP, if the answer is no then it is named as CCP.

3. Establish critical limits for each CCP

Critical points are to be established for each product for the safety of the product. Critical limits are derived from scientific data, regulatory standards and guidelines.

4. Establish a monitoring system for each CCP

Someone from the HACCP team needs to monitor the critical limit of the significant hazard. Monitoring can be done by measurement or observation; sample planning can be done by taking the samples.

According Mortimore the most common measurements taken are

Time access

Temperature measurement

PH measurement

Moisture content

5. Establish corrective actions

Corrective actions are established when the CCP is not within the established limits. The control of hazards is recovered by applying corrective actions.

6. Establish verification procedures

Verification procedures should be established to know whether the system is working or not. This step determines the confirmation of all the above steps. According to Mortimore CCP’s should be kept under control whenever possible to confirm the capacity of all elements of HACCP plan.

7. Establish documentation and record keeping

According to Edelstein to demonstrate whether the HACCP system is working properly or not established record keeping and documentation procedures are necessary. Examples for records are corrective actions taken, CCP monitoring records and records of deviation.

The management has to look towards the possible risks that might hinder the growth of the organisation which may be because of the operational inefficiencies. Managing risk is one of the primary objectives of the firms and mainly managers lack in anticipating variation or negative variation in business outcome variables such as revenues, costs, profit, market share, and so on (Miller, 1992). The concept of risk as performance variable is mainly used in operations, finance and strategic management terms which refers to variation in corporate outcomes or performance that can not be predicted (March and Shapira, 1987). Therefore, the researcher believes that the operational managers of KFC should review risks towards the brand image, market share and follow the ongoing activities and review and alter them, if required, to achieve the service outputs as determined by the organization for its future growth and survival and to get a competitive advantage over its rivals.

DEFINITION OF WASTE

It is hard to define waste because one person who thinks the object is waste may be the same object be valuable to some other person. According to EC waste framework directive of 1975 waste can be defined as “Any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard (in the categories set out in Annex 1 of the directive)”. According to the German Act of August 27 1993 waste can be defined as,’ wastes are portable objects that have been abandoned by the owner’.

Waste was defined as any substance or object in the categories set out in the original Waste Framework Directive (waste framework directive 1975)

Production or consumption residues not otherwise specified below

Off- specification products

Products whose date for appropriate use has expired

Materials spilled, lost or having undergone other mishap, including any materials, equipment, etc., contaminated as a result of the mishap.

Materials contaminated or soiled as a result of planned actions for example residues from cleaning operations, packing, materials, containers, etc.

Unusable parts for example reject batteries, exhausted catalysts, etc

Substances which no longer perform satisfactorily

Residues of industrial processes

Residues from pollution abatement processes for example spent filters, scrubber sludges.

Machining or finishing residues

Residues from raw material extraction processing for example oil field slops.

Adulterated materials i.e. oils contaminated with PCBs, etc

Any materials, substances or products resulting from remedial action with respect to land.

Products for which the holder has no further use these include agricultural, household, office, commercial and shop discards etc.

Contaminated materials, substances or products resulting from remedial action with respect to land.

Any materials, substances or product which are not contained in the above categories.

CLASSIFICATION OF WASTE

Wastes are classified as solid, liquid and gaseous waste by taking their physical state into consideration. According White solid waste can further be classified by its original use like food waste and packaging waste, by materials we use like paper and glass, by physical properties as combustible, compostable, recyclable: by origin like household, commercial, agricultural and industrial waste and is also classified by safety levels like hazardous and non hazardous waste.

Commercial waste: the solid waste generated by offices, restaurants, warehouses, institutions and non manufacturing activities at industrial facilities.

Food waste: putrescible solid material including animal and vegetable waste resulting from handling, storage, sale, preparation, cooking, or serving of foods. Primarily food waste originates in home kitchens, stores, restaurants, and other places where normally food is stored, prepared, or served.

Industrial waste: solid waste generated by manufacturing or industrial processes, excluding waste resulting from oil or gas drilling, production and treatment operations; overburden, spoil, or tailings result from mining; or solution mining brine and insoluble component wastes.

WASTE POLICIES AND STRATEGIES

The system of waste management needs to be sustainable and likely to be integrated environmentally, economically and socially.

The strategies include:

Reducing the amount of waste generated

Developing integrated waste management systems to handle the inevitable waste produced.

Integrated waste management system combines waste streams, waste collection, treatment and disposal methods, with the objective achieving environmental benefits, economic optimisation and societal acceptability. This will lead to a practical waste management system for any specific reason.

Five principles are recommended by EU for waste management

Waste management hierarchy is the main intention of the European waste management policy. The first strategy is to prevent the generation of waste and also to reduce harm caused by it. Waste can be reused, recovered and to optimise the disposal finally.

Producer responsibility: product manufactures also have an increased share in the responsibility of dealing with the waste that arises from their product.

Self sufficiency in waste disposal facilities at regional, sub- regional and national levels.

Proximity: waste should be disposed at a close point where it is being generated.

Best available technique not entailing excessive costs: pollution should be prevented as much as possible, be reasonable to implement in financial

terms.

RESTAURANT AND WASTE

Wastes from restaurants can be classified as solid waste by its physical state. It consists of different materials such as food waste, paper, plastic bottles, packaging waste etc. By origin waste generated from restaurant is included as commercial waste.

Paper

Paper was first produced by the Chinese minister of agriculture Tsai Luin in AD 105

And we can say that still it is the standard of communication between most offices

( waste watch 2004)

Waste paper across Europe is marked into different categories based on the quality. Some of them are cardboard, newspapers, white office paper, brown paper bags, wraping papers. According to Williams, 2005 waste paper of low quality can be mainly used for packaging material and also this constitutes the main route for recycling paper and board. According to Murray, 1999 the best example for ‘waste of waste’ is office paper in London.

Packaging

We can say the major component of the commercial waste stream is packaging waste. It normally includes paper and cardboard, plastics,glass, metals, food and drink cans or bottles. According to Department of the Environment and Welsh Office, 1995 the best environmental option which can be practised for packaging waste is to minimize the usage and reuse wherever possible, which may be followed by recovery by recycling or energy recovery.

Plastics

Plastics are the most hazardous problem in the world. A high proportion of waste is made by plastic polymers, the range and volume used is increasing day by day. According to Williams, 2005 bottles, plastic bags, foil wraps are the main cause for waste arising in the commercial waste stream.

Plastic type

Typical application

1.Thermoplastics

High density polyethylene (HDPE)

Low density poly ethylene (LDPE)

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

Polystyrene (PS)

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)

Polypropylene (PP)

Bottles for household chemicals, bottle caps, toys, house wares

Bags, sacks, bin liners, squeezy bottles, cling film, containers

Blister packs, food trays, bottles, toys, cable insulation, wallpaper, flooring, cling film

Egg cartons yoghurt pots, drinking cups, tape cassettes

Carbonated drink bottles, food packaging

Margarine tubs, crisp packets, packaging film

Office equipment

Equipments used for offices generally includes printers, photocopiers, scanners, computers, printer cartridges, cables, fasteners such as pens, staples, drawing pins, paper, diskettes etc. The need for raw materials such as oil which is used in the making of plastics can be reduced by recycling. By reformatting the diskettes they can be reused. If one staple is saved by everyone in the offices of UK it is estimated that 72 tonnes of metal material can be saved every year( waste watch 2004).

Food

According to EC regulation No 178/2002 food can be defined as any substance or product, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed, intended to be, or reasonably expected to be ingested by humans.

Waste minimization

Waste minimization can be defined as “the reduction of waste at source, by understanding and changing processes to reduce and prevent waste. This is also known as process or resource efficiency. Waste minimization includes the substitution of less environmentally harmful materials in the production process”.

Waste minimization programme of an organisation or industry should be an organized, comprehensive and continual effort.

The technique adopted for this can be broadly categorized as

Source reduction and

Recycling ( on-site and off-site)

The final unavoidable waste can be treated and disposed.

Minimizing the amount of things that are meant to be disposed by the owner mentions third least option of waste minimization.

Source reduction

Source reduction can be defined as any practice which reduces the amount of any hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant entering any waste stream or otherwise released into the environment prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal and reduces hazards to public health and the environment associated with their release.

The National Recycling Coalition (NRC) defines source reduction as any action that avoids the creation of waste by reducing waste at the source, including redesigning of products or packaging so that less material is used, making voluntary or imposed behavioural changes in the use of materials or increasing durability or reusability of materials. This definition implies actions intended to encourage conservation of materials.

Source Reduction Programme

According to Sasikumar promoting source reduction is important because it conserves the resources, reduces disposal costs and pollution, and teaches conservation and prevention. It is a practical approach consisting of the following basic elements;

Reduced material use in product manufacture

Increased useful life of product through durability and reparability

Decreased toxicity

Material reuse

Reduced/ more efficient consumer use of materials

Increased production efficiency resulting in less production waste.

It should be noted that focusing only on recycling might give the impression that recycling will take care of all our waste problems. Source reduction and recycling can be promoted simultaneously and can be recognized as the key component of integrated waste management.

A special advantage of source reduction is that it offers several opportunities for cost savings such as:

Direct savings

Avoided waste collection, transportation, disposal costs

Decreased pollution control, liability and regulatory compliance cost

Reduced product and material use and disposal costs

Why waste minimization is important

Few reasons for importance of waste minimization

Businesses are facing stricter regulatory requirements in the management transportation, and disposal of hazardous waste.

The number of hazardous waste disposal facilities has decreased.

There are greater restrictions in the use of landfills.

Transportation and disposal costs are rising

The long- term liability associated with handling and disposal of hazardous waste is substantial.

Causes of waste generation

The principal causes of waste generation are categorised in the following way

Manufacturing / production

Production planning

Employee behaviour

Economic factors

Others

Manufacturing / production

Rejection for cosmetic reasons for example colour

Machinery failures especially freezers

Overfilling / short filling

Packaging design can encourage over-purchase

Requirement to show dates on product packaging, when the product could be sold unpackaged

Process by-product

Production planning

Errors in demand forecasting and matching production to demand

Impact of weather and extraordinary events

Impact of price competition

Retailers changing their mind at short notice

Deliveries arrive too early

Employee behaviour

Operator error

Lack of awareness of cost of waste disposal and value of the wasted food resource

Sub- optimal segregation of reject between reuse and waste

Deliberate damage by disaffected employees

Theft

Economic factors

Cost of repackaging

Commercial viability of redistribution

Geographical constraints on redistribution

Others

Cancelled promotions

Product packaging trials

Corporate liquidations

Waste management methods

The methods used for managing food waste

Land disposal: includes all landfill activities plus lagoon disposal and deep injection to borehole when these are used as disposal methods.

Land recovery: includes spreading waste on land and surface injection( of organic waste for beneficial treatment of agricultural land), and disposal of waste to land under provisions of waste licensing exemption.

Re-use: covers only wastes that go off-site re-use excludes materials which are re-used on-site(i.e. fed back into manufacturing process).

Recycling: like re-use, includes only waste that go off-site including materials such as oils and solvents which may be regenerated or re-defined.

Thermal: covers incineration with and without energy recovery and the production of waste derived fuel also includes more specialised forms of recovery such as pyrolysis and gasification.

Treatment: covers all physico-chemical and biological treatment including anaerobic digestion and composting.

Transfer: used for wastes which do not go directly to final disposal, treatment or recovery, these wastes go through a transfer process and may be bulked -up prior to recycling, treatment or disposal in order to reduce transport costs.

BENEFITS OF WASTE MINIMIZATION

Long- term benefits can be provided by waste minimization. It can assist the attainment of, and improvement on, regulatory requirements firstly. Secondly, it can also provide a company with opportunities to improve profitability by:

Realizing specific economic benefits;

Reducing liabilities;

Promoting a positive public image;

Improving the health and safety of employees;

Increasing operating efficiency and hence reducing production costs.

The implementation of a waste minimization project is likely to incur additional capital investment, which may be rewarded by benefits such as:

Reduced on-site waste monitoring, control and treatment costs;

Reduced handling, pre-treatment, transport and off-site disposal costs;

Reduced waste storage space, thereby creating more space for productive operations;

Reduced administrative and paperwork costs associated with waste disposal;

Reduced analytical costs for the identification and characterization of specific waste streams;

Reduced production costs, including reduced raw material, energy and utility requirements;

Reduced risks from handling hazardous materials and hence improved health and safety for employees;

Reduced risks for the environment, manifested by the reduction or elimination of liability charges;

Reduced risk of breaching authorization, consent or licence conditions and hence reduced risk of prosecution;

Improved operating efficiency and process reliability;

Improved company image in the eyes of shareholders, employees and the community.

Waste minimization projects do not inevitably bring about benefits for occupational health and safety. If the initial generation of waste is reduced then clearly the risks arising from it will certainly be reduced.

According to the British marine federation the waste minimization include

Cost savings- production costs can be reduced through improved resource efficiency

Compliance- a proactive approach ensures that the company minimizes the possibility of litigation and can anticipate requirements of new legislation.

Risk reduction- control and reduction of risks and liabilities not only reduce the likelihood of fines and bad publicity but can also boost investor confidence.

Market positioning- eco-friendly products can give supply chain confidence and improve customer relations.

ABOUT KFC AND POSSIBLE WASTES AT RESTAURANT

We can say that KFC is one of the leading organisations in the fast food sector. The annual budget of the restaurant will be nearly 30 millions.

Waste generated by the restaurant

A lot of food is wasted in the restaurant daily, which may be sometimes due to overproduction. And also food is wasted when the customer returns back with the food saying they didn’t like or it’s not fresh. The food wastage also occurs when the member of staff could not handle it properly during the time of packing. The wastage which can be given second place after the food waste in restaurant is dipping sauces wastage. A lot of paper in the office is also wasted in the form of packing bags and food wrappers.

HIERARCHIES OF WASTE MANAGEMENT

The various waste management options can be placed in an order known as the waste management hierarchy, which reflects the relative sustainability of each. One of the key principles underlying waste management policy in the UK is to ensure that waste is dealt with as high up the waste management hierarchy as possible. Since all waste disposal options have some impact on the environment, the only way to avoid impact is not to produce waste in the first place, and waste reduction is therefore at the top of the hierarchy. Reuse, followed by recycling and composting follow, while disposal to landfill or by incineration, the worst options, are at the bottom of the hierarchy.

The waste management hierarchy can be defined as a set of five options in general dealing with waste. We can say that waste hierarchy is an interpretation of “Reduce- Reuse- Recycle.”

According to sashikumar waste is an inevitable by-product of society. Society must take necessary steps that waste is disposed or recovered without any risk. East European developed waste legislation outlines hierarchy of waste management and principles. Waste management of hierarchy which identifies management options based on their desirability. sashikumar says that one of the most desirable option is waste minimization and prevention of waste generation.

The directive requires governments to apply five principles in waste management.

The principle of best available technology not involving excessive cost

The principle of proximity of treatment and disposal to the source of waste.

The principle of self sufficiency in waste disposal

Application of ‘polluter pays principle’ to the disposal of waste to ensure that the cost of waste disposal is borne by the producer-holder

Duty of care for producers of waste

Waste prevention

Reducing the amount or pollution potential of municipal solid waste and the other waste produced in a given area is a preventive action, which means that it is fundamentally different function to waste management proper. It is to be noted that reducing the amount of waste offers many potential benefits such as:

Fewer environmental problems with waste management

Lower waste management costs

Increased conservation

More efficient use of resources

Increased public confidence in industry and government.

Waste reduction

One of the most important objectives of the waste management plan has to be prevention and minimization of waste going to the treatment and landfill. The minimization of quantities of waste being treated and disposed to landfills is a challenge that may be addressed through the implementation of an integrated waste management system, which is based on following principles:

Prevention and minimization of waste generation

Provision of a recycling infrastructure

Separate source collection of recyclable components of municipal solid waste

Centralized separation of recyclables for mixed waste.

Prevention

Reuse

Recycling

Other recovery

Disposal

Prevention- measures taken before a substance, material or product has become waste, that reduce (a) the quantity of waste, including through the re-use of products or the extension of the life span of products; (b) the adverse impacts of the generated waste on the environment and human health; or (c) the content of harmful substances in materials and products.

Re- use- checking, cleaning or repairing recovery operations, by which products or components of such products that have become waste are prepared so that they can be re-used without any other pre-processing

Recycling

Any recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials or substances whether for the original or other purposes includes the reprocessing of organic material, but not energy recovery or the reprocessing into materials that are to be used as fuels or backfilling operations

Other recovery it normally includes energy recovery