When it comes to circular economy, what can the catering industry do?
Restaurants inevitably generate waste during the process of cooking delicacies, with food scraps making up the largest proportion. However, used cooking oil from frying operations should not be overlooked as waste. To address this, Maxim's Group has partnered with local waste cooking oil processors, mandating its stores to preserve this waste cooking oil daily for collection. The collected waste oil is then recycled by specialized processors into biodiesel, facilitating circular economy and minimizing environmental impact.
No impacts will be brought to the environment throughout the entire process of using commercial biodiesel in vehicles, including usage, vehicle performance, and depreciation of parts. In a truly sustainable world, environmental protection elements are integrated into our daily lives.
“Circular economy” is a highlight focus of Maxim’s Group in its pursuit of sustainability, which is to make full use of renewable energy, reject the use of toxic chemicals that cannot be recycled, and redesign materials, products, production processes and business models, for the purpose of eliminating waste.
Michael shared that since 2009, Maxim’s Group has been promoting environmental protection through key initiatives, including the Surplus Bread Donation Program. Volunteers will go to Maxim’s Cakes and Arome shops to collect surplus bread every day and donate them to the needy through NGOs. The Group cooperates with Shell and hopes to extend the concept of revitalizing waste by upcycling used cooking oil collected from our restaurants and turn it into energy.
Maxim’s Group has also recycled other materials, such as eggshells, salmon bones, peels, and pits since 2015, and upcycled them into fish feed, animal feed or planting fertilizers. The Group is also one of the first catering groups to send food waste to the Organic Resource Recycling Centre, using anaerobic decomposition technology to convert it into biogas for power generation.
With the help of technology, we will continue to give waste a second life.