Reducing Environmental Risk by Applying a Polyvalent Model of Waste Management in the Restaurant Industry

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Paper idea and results have academic merit and could be interesting for improvement of the sustainable management in hospitality industry. But paper needs several improvements to be recommended for publication:

1.Paper lack literature review of the previous studies and it's hard to understand what is the contribution of this paper. So it is necessary to include literature review on the waste management in restaurant industry. Discussion section should show the contribution of the paper in comparison with the previous studies. 16 references is not enough for the article.

2.Materials and methods should be better substantiated. It is hard to understand why this type of model was chosen, why it is called polyvalent model?

3. The polyvalent model and it's results is more economic in nature. I recommend to stress the environmental effects of the model application in conclusion section. 

4.In figures 5 and 6 additional explanation of the methods of elimination of waste. 

5.Abstract should be improved to better reflect contents and results of the study.  

Author Response

Response to Reviewer 1 Comments

 

1.Paper lack literature review of the previous studies and it's hard to understand what is the contribution of this paper. So it is necessary to include literature review on the waste management in restaurant industry. Discussion section should show the contribution of the paper in comparison with the previous studies. 16 references is not enough for the article.

Response 1: The literature review was improved, including previous studies and also included a section of waste management in restaurant industry, signified by a literature review that was added to the article. The article was completed with a final number of 43 references.

The paper contribution and the main research objective are related to the optimization of production in restaurants based on the principles of the circular economy, by recycling waste. As a novelty we mention the description of a multipurpose functional model of the supply chain in a restaurant, represented as interconnected processes covered by the flows of food and waste, with associated optimized cost flows. Reference is made to the applications of a model in sustainable technology and proper waste management. The proposed model called TEWAMA-R (Multipurpose Model of Technology and Waste Management in Restaurants) can be used as a tool to optimize waste management in a restaurant, having as a basic element the analysis of the causes of waste release. The paper provide specific aspects of the operational management regarding the logistic chain in hospitality, more specific in restaurant waste management, thus covering particular gaps in specialized literature.

2.Materials and methods should be better substantiated. It is hard to understand why this type of model was chosen, why it is called polyvalent model?

Response 2: The Materials and methods has been extended and explained better, as follows:

The method used for the analysis of waste release and management processes is the functional modeling method. Functional Analysis is a method of researching the functions of a product. The functions are identified by specific methods of analysis. The ordering aims at the classification according to a functional logic and the establishment of the interdependence relations. Hierarchy allows the evaluation of the order of importance of the functions. Researchers described a functional model of a supply chain for waste management, recovery and reuse of plastic tableware. In the next section, the Hicks model for analyzing cyclical fluctuations is adapted to the flow of food in restaurants, waste and accumulated costs. Methodologically, a series of logical scheme models are also considered, namely data flow diagrams (DFD) that allow to model the flow of a process or information system and to be able to represent it in a coherent and intelligible visual form. Technological and managerial flow models are also used.

            The research methodology includes the next steps: definition of the polyvalent model by describing the technologic process in the restaurant industry; setup of the polyvalent functional model of waste management on restaurant logistic chain; case study on the logistic chain of a restaurant in Brașov, Romania touristic destination (as a classic example of specific menu: beef steak with vegetables).

Consequently, function of the technological stage (Stage), generator of wastes, as well as of the operation (Op) of aliment transformation along the technologic flow, there may be described the polyvalent model of sustainable technology and waste management (W) in restaurants (fig.4).

 

3. The polyvalent model and it's results is more economic in nature. I recommend to stress the environmental effects of the model application in conclusion section. 

Response 3: The following information was added in conclusion section:

On average, a restaurant produces 25,000 to 75,000 pounds of waste per year, from which only 14.3% of the leftover food is recycled, 1.4% donated, and the rest, 84.3% of such food, is discarded. The reduction of waste from the restaurant industry produces, besides the increase of the profit of the respective unit, also the increase of the sustainability indices for the respective business, major positive effects on the environment. Knowing the huge amount of natural resources consumed for the production of food raw materials (especially in terms of meat, dairy products, etc.) it can be seen that the model presented in the paper contributes primarily to reducing the consumption of fresh water, energy. At the same time, the impact on the environment is reduced by eliminating an important matrix of waste and by-products generated in the restaurant industry.

Future research directions will use various techniques for Environmental Impact Assessment, and will consider assessing the impact of this method of reducing waste in the restaurant industry vis-à-vis the footprint of the public food business on the environment.

4.In figures 5 and 6 additional explanation of the methods of elimination of waste. 

Response 4: Additional explanation for figures 5 and 6 was added as follows:

Comparing phases 1 (reception and primary processing) in figures 5 and 6 it can be seen that revising the specification of getting ready the preparation for "beef steak with vegetables", leads to the generation of a larger amount of waste (6.67% < 6 %), which is reused in proportion of 72%, eliminating only 28% of waste. This involves reducing the costs of purchasing raw materials for phase 2 processing (freezing and storage), but also reducing the costs of waste management (a smaller amount of waste will be eliminated).

Another consequence of revising the specification of getting ready the preparation is the fact that in the 3rd phase of processing (defreezing and cooking) the amount of waste obtained (0.43%) is reused in proportion of 100%. This element has beneficial effects on the decrease of the purchase price of the input raw materials for phase 4 (maintenance and assembling in plate) and the complete elimination of the costs with waste management from phase 3.

There is also a reduction in the amounts of waste resulting in phase 4 (0.83% < 1.07%) and in phase 5 (5.59% < 7.16%).

5.Abstract should be improved to better reflect contents and results of the study.  

Response 5: The abstact was improved as follows:

There are approached a series of concerns regarding circular economy and linked to a responsible attitude facing environment protection, which represent essential demands for restaurants to be profitable and sustainable in the future. It is taken into consideration the cost of  food wastes, as a strategic problem on the restaurant logistic chain. Literature review shows that there is a lack of appropriate knowledge and technology in dealing with eco-waste management. The paper presents a functional polyvalent model of the logistic chain from a restaurant, represented under the form of interconnected processes covered by the flows of  food goods and wastes on stages and operations, having associated the flows of optimized costs. The application of the sustainable technology model and wastes management is illustrated by a case study from Brașov County, Romania The research proves that applying the „polyvalent model of improvement of wastes management practices” has positive effects concerning the possibilities to minimize physical wastes, respectively to reduce the volume of wastes from restaurant activity, to reduce costs with waste elimination and to create value-added, by reusing and recycling  food raw materials. Results show that by applying the TEWAMA-R model to this food preparation, the total amount of reused beef waste per month increased to 33.4% and the recycling of waste increased to 41.1% (given that all waste was disposed of in application of standard technology). Disposal was reduced from 100% to 25.5%. The presented model allows an impact reduction on the environment, of the restaurant industry, by reducing/eliminating waste or by-products that are carriers of huge resources of water and energy.

Reviewer 2 Report

Authors chose a hot topic. Focused on special part of waste management. In my mind it would be necessary to improve the literatures. I suggest to improve the paper with the effects of COVID-19. How will it be influencing the future waste management in restaurant industry. I appreciate their methods which used in the research work. Tables and figures are clear and increase the value of the paper.

Author Response

1. In my mind it would be necessary to improve the literatures.

Response 1: The literature improved with the following reference titles (a total number of 43):

1. Manosuthi, N.; Lee, J.; Han, H. Predicting the revisit intention of volunteer tourists using the merged model between the theory of planned behavior and norm activation model. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing 2020 37(4), 510–532.
2. Steg, L.; Vlek, C. Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour: An integrative review and research agenda. Journal of Environmental Psychology 2009, 29(3), 309–317.;
3. Untaru, E.; Ispas, A.; Candrea, A. N.; Luca, M.; Epuran, G. Predictors of individuals' intention to conserve water in a lodging context: The application of an extended theory of reasoned action. International Journal of Hospitality Management 2016, 59, 50–59.
4. Han, H. Consumer behavior and environmental sustainability in tourism and hospitality: a review of theories, concepts and latest research. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 2021, 29(7), 1021-1042.
5. Ho, C.Y.; Tsai, B.H.; Chen, C.-S., Lu,  -T. Exploring Green Marketing Orientations toward Sustainability the Hospitality Industry in the COVID-19 Pandemic. Sustainability 2021, 13, 4348.
6. Gladysz, B.; Buczacki, A.; Haskins, C. Lean Management Approach to Reduce Waste in HoReCa Food Services. Resources, 2020, 9 144;
7. Gunders, D.; Bloom, J. Wasted: How America is Losing up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill; Natural Resources Defense Council: New York, NY, USA, 2017.
8. Papargyropoulou, E.; Lozano, R.; Steinberger, J.K.; Wright, N.; Ujang, Z. The food waste hierarchy as a framework for the management of food surplus and food waste. Clean. Prod. 2014, 76, 106–115.
9. Blum, D.Ways to Reduce Restaurant Industry FoodWaste Costs. J. Appl. 2020, 19, 1–12;
10. Pirani, S.I.; Arafat, H.A. Reduction of food waste generation in the hospitality industry. J. Clean. Prod. 2016, 132, 129–145;
11. Tsai, W.-T. Turning Food Waste into Value-Added Resources: Current Status and Regulatory Promotion in Taiwan. Resources 2020, 9, 53;
12. Sakaguchi, L.; Pak, N.; Potts, M.D. Tackling the issue of food waste in restaurants: Options for measurement method, reduction and behavioral change. J. Clean. Prod. 2018, 180, 430–436;
13. Abdelhadi, A. Using lean manufacturing as service quality benchmark evaluation measure. J. Lean Six Sigma 2016, 7, 25–34;
14. Martin-Rios, C.; Hofmann, A.; Mackenzie, N. Sustainability-Oriented Innovations in Food Waste Management Technology. Sustainability 2021, 13
15. Read, Q.D.; Brown, S.; Cuéllar, A.D.; Finn, S.M.; Gephart, J.A.; Marston, L.T.; Meyer, E.; Weitz, K.A.; Muth, M.K. Assessing the environmental impacts of halving food loss and waste along the food supply chain. Total Environ. 2020, 712, 136255;
16. Poore, J.; Nemecek, T. Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science 2018, 360, 987–992;
17. Stenmarck, Â.; Jensen, C.; Quested, T.; Moates, G.; Buksti, M.; Cseh, B.; Juul, S.; Parry, A.; Politano, A.; Redlingshofer, B. Estimates of European Food Waste Levels; IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute: Stockholm, Sweden, 2016.
18. Martín-Rios, C.; Ciobanu, T. Hospitality innovation strategies: An analysis of success factors and challenges. Manag. 2019, 70, 218–229;
19. Martin-Rios, C.; Demen-Meier, C.; Gössling, S.; Cornuz, C. Food waste management innovations in the foodservice industry. Waste Manag. 2018, 79, 196–206;
20. Filimonau, V.; Delysia, A. Food waste management in hospitality operations: A critical review. Manag. 2019, 71, 234–245;
21. Klewitz, J.; Hansen, E.G. Sustainability-oriented innovation of SMEs: A systematic review. Clean. Prod. 2014, 65, 57–75;
22. Silvennoinen, K.; Nisonen, S.; Pietiläinen, O. Food waste case study and monitoring developing in Finnish food services. Waste Manag. 2019, 97, 97–104;
23. Filimonau, V.; Matute, J.; Kubal-Czerwi´ nska, M.; Krzesiwo, K.; Mika, M. The determinants of consumer engagement in restaurant food waste mitigation in Poland: An exploratory study. Clean. Prod. 2020, 247, 119105;
24. Leverenz, D.; Hafner, G.; Moussawel, S.; Kranert, M.; Goossens, Y.; Schmidt, T. Reducing food waste in hotel kitchens based on self-reported data. Mark. Manag. 2020, in press;
25. Martin-Rios, C.; Zizka, L.; Varga, P.; Pasamar, S. KITRO: Technology solutions to reduce food waste in Asia-Pacific hospitality and restaurants. Asia Pac. J. Tour. Res. 2020, 1–8;
26. Audet, R.; Brisebois, É. The social production of food waste at the retail-consumption interface. Sustainability 2019, 11, 3834;
27. Gruia, R. Evolutia stiintifica a gastronomiei in cadrul actului alimentar; Publisher: Clarion Brasov, Romania, 2018; pp. 49-68.
28. Gruia, R. Gatronomia si principiile biologiei alimentatiei; Publisher: Clarion Brasov, Romania, 2018; pp. 23-37.
29. Mourad, M. Recycling, recovering and preventing "food waste": Competing solutions for food systems sustainability
30. in the United States and France. Journal of Cleaner Production, Elsevier,  2016, 126.

2. I suggest to improve the paper with the effects of COVID-19. How will it be influencing the future waste management in restaurant industry.

Response 2: The paper was improved with informations about the effects of COVID-19 in future waste management issues in restaurant industry as follows:

The subject of waste management in restaurant industry falls into promotion of pro-environmental consumption activity, which is in general more efficient when it is planned and implemented in a systematic manner and evaluated in a continuous manner [2-4].

To do so, it is a fundamental requisite to clearly understand what environmentally-sustainable consumer behavior is; to know the theories that are effective for explaing the behavior, to recognize the factors that trigger it, and to know contemporary tourism and hospitality studies dealing with the behavior, which were not wholly uncovered in the existant literature.

Han in his paper [5] also signified the importance of pro-environmental consumption activity, by: (1) provided the conceptualization of environmentally-sustainable consumer behavior, (2) presented the thorough review on social psychology and environmental psychology theories, (3) provided the discussion on key drivers of environmentally-sustainable consumer behavior, and (4) introduced the new tourism and hospitality studies about sustainability and consumer behavior.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, as the hospitality industry attempts to move in the path of sustainable development, administrators need to expand their efforts for improving natural environmental orientation (NEO), market orientation, resource orientation, and brand orientation by new hospitality’s strategies.

Chun-Yi Ho in his paper [6] studied, on survey-base, multiple elements for green marketing orientation formulas in the Taiwanese hospitality industry in the COVID-19 pandemic and validated important elements through the multiple viewpoint via means of an MCDM. A mixture of fuzzy theory, DEMATEL, and DANP methods was applyed for estimation of green marketing orientations based on dissimilar viewpoints of strategy. A flexible, practical and useful model for determining the hierarchical determinants of a strategic orientations program for the hospitality industry was proposed. These elements are ordered through the fuzzy DEMATEL and fuzzy DANP approaches.

Reviewer 3 Report

The manuscript titled "Reducing environmental risk by applying a polyvalent model of waste management in restaurant industry" has an interesting topic with potential, and it is coherent with the topics of Sustainability.

The paper discusses a functional model concerning the flow of alimentary raw materials and wastes in restaurants, both from physical perspective and from the perspective of accumulated costs.

I enjoyed reading this article, but I have some major concerns about the paper:

1) Please change the introduction section describing in detail the importance of the topic, the aim of the paper, your contribution, the gap of the literature and the structure of the paper. 

2) Then, I suggest to the authors to add a second section devoted to the analysis of the literature related to the waste management in the restaurant industry.

3) The section related to Materials and methods must be explained in much deeper detail.

4) Please check the quality of your figures and images.

5) limitations and future directions of the paper should be addressed in the conclusion section.

Good luck with the revision. The core of the paper is really interesting.

Author Response

1) Please change the introduction section describing in detail the importance of the topic, the aim of the paper, your contribution, the gap of the literature and the structure of the paper. 

Response 1: The changes regarding the introduction section was changed as requested and is presented as following:

The subject of waste management in restaurant industry falls into promotion of pro-environmental consumption activity, which is in general more efficient when it is planned and implemented in a systematic manner and evaluated in a continuous manner [2-4].

To do so, it is a fundamental requisite to clearly understand what environmentally-sustainable consumer behavior is; to know the theories that are effective for explaing the behavior, to recognize the factors that trigger it, and to know contemporary tourism and hospitality studies dealing with the behavior, which were not wholly uncovered in the existant literature.

Han in his paper [5] also signified the importance of pro-environmental consumption activity, by: (1) provided the conceptualization of environmentally-sustainable consumer behavior, (2) presented the thorough review on social psychology and environmental psychology theories, (3) provided the discussion on key drivers of environmentally-sustainable consumer behavior, and (4) introduced the new tourism and hospitality studies about sustainability and consumer behavior.

The aim of this paper is to study another important group of policies in the  public food area, that aims to space itself from the model of linear production (“supply with raw  food materials – preparation of food dishes – consumption of food dishes – wastes evacuations”), towards a circular model, that extracts maximum value from  food resources and keeps them within the restaurant operational frame, or transfer them towards other economic agents for whom restaurant wastes are useful goods or raw materials (circular economy, i.e. zero wastes), as it can be observed in figure 2. [1, 7, 8]

The concept  involves changes in the whole ensemble of logistic chains, including  the creation of food items, the operation models from the restaurant industry, the influence on client consumption choice by the menu list, as well as wastes prevention and management. [ 10, 11].

In this context, the paper contribution and the main research objective are related to the optimization of production in restaurants based on the principles of the circular economy, by recycling waste. As a novelty we mention the description of a multipurpose functional model of the supply chain in a restaurant, represented as interconnected processes covered by the flows of food and waste, with associated optimized cost flows. Reference is made to the applications of a model in sustainable technology and proper waste management. The proposed model called TEWAMA-R (Multipurpose Model of Technology and Waste Management in Restaurants) can be used as a tool to optimize waste management in a restaurant, having as a basic element the analysis of the causes of waste release.

The paper provide specific aspects of the operational management regarding the logistic chain in hospitality, more specific in restaurant waste management, thus covering particular gaps in specialized literature. [41-43]

After literature study, in the paper it is presented the functional modeling research methodology that was applied to the case study of a restaurant from Brașov touristic destination. The results chapter describes the technologic process in the restaurant industry, the polyvalent functional model of waste management on restaurant logistic chain, and the quantitative and value evaluation of waste from the technological process of beef steak. The paper is closing with the chapter of conclusions, that shows the benefits, limitation the and future directions.

2) Then, I suggest to the authors to add a second section devoted to the analysis of the literature related to the waste management in the restaurant industry.

Response 2: A second section devoted to waste management was added as follows:

1.2. Waste management in restaurant industry

Bartłomiej emphasizes in his paper [12] the need of organizational improvements leading to the decrease of food waste and costs in restaurants. While the literature reports applications of lean management in service businesses, the literature contains few works on specific applications in the domain of food services. [13-15] Lean management was found to be useful in three study cases from Poland to decrease food waste and reduce operational costs. The case studies suggest a set of activities for organizations delivering food services to streamline their processes by applying lean management practices. [16-19]

Carlos Martin shows in his paper [20] that wasting food means missing opportunities to feed 820 million people undernourished (according UNO, in 2018) consuming scarce resources, such as land, water and energy used for production, processing, and distribution of food. [21] Firms in HORECA (hospitality, restaurant and catering) represent a considerable share of total food waste and, more importantly, are characterized by an overall low sense of awareness about the sustainability-oriented innovation opportunities and challenges of minimizing food waste. [22-26] The article presents a series of case studies to explore the use of technological advancements in downstream value chain. [27-32]  This case study draws on a tech startup providing services for HORECA companies to address a new way for companies to solve the food waste challenge. Adopting technological innovations to quantify and minimize wastage via collaborations with third-party companies can be a strategic and cost-effective way to supplement a company’s open innovation activities.

Tehrani in his paper [33] studied many restaurant activity cases, including the ones from Taiwan, that the most important factors essential for environment impact saving were: equipment/technology the ease of implementation of green practices, the eficient use of resources, and the personal values of customers.

Other studies concluded that the cost of implementation of green operations in restaurants can be recovered by better economic performance of the restaurants.  

Summarizing the research in this area, the most significant impediments to improve sustainability in the restaurant industry are: lack of adequate knowledge and information on the side of both restaurant owners/managers and customers; the nature of the restaurant industry; regular customers and tourists that can impact the increase of food wastes in restaurants; lack of appropriate knowledge and technology in dealing with eco-waste management; design of the menus; and complexity in operations of a restaurant . [3, 6, 11, 15, 33]

3) The section related to Materials and methods must be explained in much deeper detail.

Response 3: The Materials and methods has been extended and explained better, as follows:

The method used for the analysis of waste release and management processes is the functional modeling method. Functional Analysis is a method of researching the functions of a product. The functions are identified by specific methods of analysis. The ordering aims at the classification according to a functional logic and the establishment of the interdependence relations. Hierarchy allows the evaluation of the order of importance of the functions. Researchers described a functional model of a supply chain for waste management, recovery and reuse of plastic tableware. In the next section, the Hicks model for analyzing cyclical fluctuations is adapted to the flow of food in restaurants, waste and accumulated costs. Methodologically, a series of logical scheme models are also considered, namely data flow diagrams (DFD) that allow to model the flow of a process or information system and to be able to represent it in a coherent and intelligible visual form. Technological and managerial flow models are also used.

The research methodology includes the next steps: definition of the polyvalent model by describing the technologic process in the restaurant industry; setup of the polyvalent functional model of waste management on restaurant logistic chain; case study on the logistic chain of a restaurant in Brașov, Romania touristic destination (as a classic example of specific menu: beef steak with vegetables).

4) Please check the quality of your figures and images.

Response 4: The quality of figures was improved and their size increased.

5) limitations and future directions of the paper should be addressed in the conclusion section.

Response 5: The conclusions part was changed, including limitations and future directions, as follows:

Restaurant food waste is substantial and largely avoidable, its identification demonstrating that it is present at every stage of the culinary technological process, even in intermediate operations. Functional modeling shows possibilities to minimize physical waste through the possibility of recycling it, either to be recovered as a raw material or to make a by-product, which can generate added value in the logistics chain of the restaurant.

By applying the analyzed multipurpose model, the waste stream that generates the highest costs is minimized and restaurants are more likely to improve their competitive position in terms of sustainability. Practically, waste losses are reduced, while complying with legal provisions on environmental protection.

The multipurpose model of technology and waste management in restaurants (TEWAMA-R) becomes sustainable in the context in which the function of the technological stage (“Stage”) of waste generators as well as the operation (Op) based on food processing along the technological flow, can be described by analyzing the quantities and costs of waste. The model can also be used to facilitate internal communication within the restaurant, with the external one, ie with other organizations, in order to reduce the amount of waste.

In the application of the study, by revising the preparation specification of the preparation "roast beef with vegetables", the rate of waste may be reduced and some of the waste generated may be reused or recycled. By applying the TEWAMA-R model to this food preparation, the total amount of reused beef waste per month increased to 33.4% and the recycling of waste increased to 41.1% (given that all waste was disposed of in application of standard technology). Disposal was reduced from 100% to 25.5%.

Statistically, these trends show by extrapolation the importance of applying such a model given that all the ingredients of the recipe and all menus are taken into account, i.e. there is an integrated analysis of the restaurant's monthly culinary output, which quantifies production optimization based on circular economy.

On average, a restaurant produces 25,000 to 75,000 pounds of waste per year, from which only 14.3% of the leftover food is recycled, 1.4% donated, and the rest, 84.3% of such food, is discarded. The reduction of waste from the restaurant industry produces, besides the increase of the profit of the respective unit, also the increase of the sustainability indices for the respective business, major positive effects on the environment. Knowing the huge amount of natural resources consumed for the production of food raw materials (especially in terms of meat, dairy products, etc.) it can be seen that the model presented in the paper contributes primarily to reducing the consumption of fresh water, energy. At the same time, the impact on the environment is reduced by eliminating an important matrix of waste and by-products generated in the restaurant industry.

Limitation of the TEWAMA-R model refers to the complexity of the technological flow, the restaurant's monthly culinary output, recipes and the ingredients used. Further case studies should be taken in consideration in order to establish the efficiency degree and to make fine adjustment of the model parameters.

Future research directions will use various techniques for Environmental Impact Assessment, and will consider assessing the impact of this method of reducing waste in the restaurant industry vis-à-vis the footprint of the public food business on the environment

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Thank you for detailed answers to questions and comments.

Reviewer 3 Report

no further comments and suggestions