Kouvola reduces food waste with bio waste scales from Biovaaka Oy

The city of Kouvola has acquired Biovaaka scale systems for the city’s 14 schools and the Lehtomäki day care centre to help monitor and reduce food waste.

The city of Kouvola has a strategic goal to promote climate sustainability in mass catering. This goal obligates the city’s food services to reduce the amount of food waste generated by customers by 20%, which would reduce the environmental burden and carbon footprint of catering services. Food production consumes a lot of soil, water and energy. Production and consumption of food account for more than 20% of the climate impact of consumption. When food is wasted, it was produced in vain.

The bio waste scales are located in points where customers return their dishes to collect data about the amount of food waste. The bio waste scale comes with a screen which allows customers to immediately see the amount of food waste in grams. The screen uses signal colours to tell the customers how well they have succeeded in reducing food waste. Personal feedback makes food waste visible to everyone and allows people to contribute to reducing it.

The Biovaaka system also provides accurate data about how much and what type of food waste is generated in the restaurant’s kitchen, how much food ends up in the bio waste bin after eating and how much food is left over from the restaurant’s serving line.

With the help of the Biovaaka system’s reports, the amount of food waste can be tracked in each location on a daily, weekly or monthly basis or even by specific menus. Food waste data can also be utilised for educational purposes. Schools can set their own goals for the reduction of food waste.

“There is no single way to reduce food waste. We wanted to find practical ways to make a difference, and the Biovaaka system is one of them. We are extremely proud to be the first to adopt this system in the Kymenlaakso region,” says catering services planner Merja Saarinen. The purpose of systematic food waste monitoring, communication and advice is to influence attitudes and reduce the amount of food waste.