Good to Go - Estimating the impact of a formal take-home service on restaurant food waste

Food waste is one of the issues being addressed by the Scottish Government and this study was implemented to identify opportunities to reduce restaurant plate waste through a formal take home (doggy bag) service.

11 restaurants located in Glasgow and Edinburgh took part in the 8-week pilot which commenced 31 March 2014 and a further five joined during the fourth week. The restaurants represented a range of cuisines including British, American, Indian, Italian, Egyptian, pub and fine dining. Some of these restaurants already offered a service whereby diners could take home any uneaten served food at the end of the meal, although this facility was not actively promoted and tended to be provided at thecustomer’s request.

The main objective of the pilot was to identify whether the availability of a formal branded and promoted take-home container scheme would encourage diners to take uneaten food home and the circumstances of take-up. It also sought to measure the amount of waste that could be diverted from landfill by weighing restaurant plate waste pre- and post-trial and identifying the extent to which thefood taken home was actually consumed.

Download the full pilot report on the right.

Find out more about Zero Waste Scotland's Good to Go.