Recycling food waste
Paul Featherstone, group director of surplus food recycler, SugaRich, will be speaking about recycling food manufacturing waste at Resource 2015, Excel London, on Wednesday 4 March. The event will bring together professionals with a significant interest in keeping materials in the circular economy for a healthier environment and more sustainable economy.
SugaRich works with food manufacturers and retailers to transform high calorific food ‘wasteage’ into starch-rich animal feed. With a UK target to halve food waste by 2020, some of Britain’s biggest food companies are using SugaRich to convert wasteage into co-product, including Sainsbury’s, United Biscuits and Premier Foods. SugaRich manages the entire process and the business is growing: SugaRich recently earned a place on The London Stock Exchange’s ‘1000 Companies to Inspire Britain’ list.
Paul Featherstone will be participating in a panel debate chaired by Julie Hill of Wrap, in which three different approaches to food waste will be discussed. Other panellists will be Arthur Kay of Bio-Bean, which converts used coffee grounds into electricity and Claire Atkins-Morris of facilities management company Sodexo.
Paul Featherstone says: “Businesses are crying out for increased efficiency and smarter ways to manage their excess product. Food wasteage is high on the agenda, with seven million tonnes waste being generated in the manufacturing and retail of food alone. SugaRich takes product that can’t be redistributed to people and makes a high quality animal feed instead.”
Produced from bakery, biscuit and confectionery, the final products are environmentally-friendly since they reduce the need to use arable farmland to grow crops to feed animals. SugaRich clients and customers benefit from the solution, which is both environmentally and cost efficient.
Featherstone says: “SugaRich operations enable resource efficiency by keeping food in the food cycle, reducing waste and the demand for raw materials. I’m looking forward to what will be a very interesting panel debate as we explore good practice in how the UK deals with its resources in more sustainable ways.”
