The award-winning Brend Hotels Group is a name synonymous with luxury. Its collection of 11 exceptional hotels and stunning restaurants in Devon and Cornwall are renowned for their fabulous locations, outstanding service and fine cuisine. Highly experienced chefs work tirelessly to create fresh and innovative menus incorporating local and seasonal West Country produce all year round.
As a company which is dedicated to delivering the very highest levels of service and care to its guests, it also cares passionately about the environment. Resource managers within each hotel are tasked with specific working practices to minimise their environmental impact – for example, all waste is recycled wherever possible to avoid sending it to landfill while other measures including solar, thermal or biomass energy systems and low impact LED lighting ensure that the group operates at optimum eco-efficiency.
Food waste recycling is another high priority for Brend – not only are there the obvious health & safety implications if it is not managed properly, but guest comfort could be compromised if bad smells were allowed to develop. With the Group serving an average of 1,300 Sunday lunches alone each week, it’s critical that food waste is removed quickly and efficiently.
“Our chefs work hard to ensure there is as little food waste as possible anyway, but inevitably there will be some – both from the preparation process and off guests’ plates,” explains Matthew Brend, Director. “Separating food waste from general waste is a major part of our recycling policy as we are committed to trading responsibly and doing everything we can to leave as little environmental impact as possible.”
Food waste from each of the Brend hotels is collected by Andigestion once or twice a week depending on demand and taken to its recycling site at Holsworthy near Bude, where approximately 76,000 tonnes of the south west’s food waste is recycled each year. Matthew is particularly impressed with Andigestion’s Wheelie Bin Exchange in which the full food waste bins are swapped for fresh, steam-cleaned ones every time they’re collected, to help keep premises clean and hygienic with no mess, smells or liners for customers to worry about.
“The clean bin swap system is essential for an operation like ours,” adds Matthew. “If left uncollected or untreated, waste food can be a real hazard so it’s crucial that we can depend on our recycling service to be efficient and reliable at all times. It’s a critical part of our overall environmental and sustainability mission.”
