Viking Line’s M/S Mariella is making efforts in reducing food waste achieving an estimated 27 tonnes over a period of four months; According to the company, the amout of food they saved equals to approximately 70,000 meals.
In April 2019, the company collaborated with Winnow to conduct a project to reduce the food waste on M/S Mariella.
The majority of the meals onboard the vessel are prepared in the same kitchen. Therefore, the kitchen waste bins were equipped with scales to measure the actual amount of waste. Based on computer software technology, the waste was categorized, weighed and recorded for statistical purposes. The computer-generated reports enabled the monitoring of plate waste, trim waste and waste due to overproduction – all the discarded food from the buffet lines was measured.
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In light of the success, Viking Line restaurants are also developing the presentation and serving size of their dishes as a means of reducing plate waste. The buffet restaurant offers ready-made portions.
Janne Lindholm, Restaurant Manager for Viking Line stated
We have managed to minimize food waste per passenger by an average of 40%. This reduction was especially driven by an increase of efficiency in our kitchen procedures. We pay more attention to preparation amounts. As a concrete example, any potatoes boiled for lunches can also be used to prepare delicious side dishes for the dinner crowd.
She added that the company didn’t change the quality, freshness or availability of their food.
Moreover, the remaining food waste is used for the production of biogas. Overall, organic waste can be easily used for the production of 3rd generation biofuels.
In 2018, the biowaste collected from M/S Viking XPRS, M/S Viking Grace and M/S Mariella was used to produce a total of 98,550 cubic meters of biogas, which equals, in terms of energy, altogether 111,300 liters of gasoline.