Considering how you will dispose of organic waste early in the process of food production will help your organization become more sustainable. You can deploy strategies such as reduced purchasing and planning for food donations. It will also cause your organization to think earlier about how the disposal of waste  fits into the workflow in your commercial kitchen. 

Workflow planning is an essential element of success for any food preparation space. Now, with appropriate workflow planning that accounts for both food preparation and service elements, commercial food organizations can further streamline their operations for greater speed and efficiency while achieving sustainability goals. 

Improve layout for greater efficiency

Layout is everything when it comes to creating an efficient food preparation workspace. The right layout minimizes the risk of staff bumping into one another and potential process bottlenecks. In many cases, simple adjustments can dramatically improve commercial kitchen workflow. 

The Certified Food Service Professionals handbook offers six guidelines to follow when designing a commercial kitchen’s workflow:

1. Consider flexibility and modularity. Rolling and mobile solutions can help busy kitchens adapt during times of peak demand. The leading exception to this rule may be the mobile trash bin, which can leave an unsanitary trail as it moves past work stations. 
2. Ensure simplicity. Minimizing unnecessary clutter will ensure staff can find what they need fast. 
3. Pay attention to the flow of materials and personnel. This includes traffic from inventory delivery to cooking all the way through cleanup. 
4. Ensure ease of sanitation. The intense safety regulations governing food preparation make easy cleanup a requirement—and demand that careful attention is paid to the methods for the disposal of organic waste. 
5. Ensure ease of supervision. All staff must be able to see where materials are during production to improve the flow of service. 
6. Make the most efficient use of your space. Any investment must bring clear and consistent value to your commercial kitchen workflow through repeatable operation. 

While many food preparation organizations focus on how these elements are achieved during food production, more are innovating around cleanup and waste disposal. This is an area where food biodigesters are proving invaluable. Unlike other strategies for sustainably managing organic waste, biodigesters are an in-line solution. This sealed equipment can be installed in the food preparation area, without risk of undue odors or uncleanliness. With this simple addition, food prep professionals can reduce time spent disposing of waste and maximize their overall efficiency, all while meeting their sustainability goals. 

Organize organic disposal in service areas

Now, the benefits of commercial kitchen workflow planning can also be seen at the food service level through separated waste disposal containers. With separated disposal containers, food service organizations can begin to segregate types of waste earlier in their process, achieving greater efficiency in their cleanup processes. Organizations can have diners dispose of food in one bin and recyclables in another bin to create two distinct workflows. 

The challenge, of course, then becomes moving full bins, transporting them into the food preparation space and then outside, and lifting them for disposal. This is where bin tippers can provide a useful edge in workflow efficiency. 

Bin tippers are designed to lift heavy containers, removing the risk of strain and injury for kitchen staff. These power-operated machines lift and invert garbage bins, into your kitchen’s waste disposal container of choice. This industrial tool makes it easy to efficiently offload large amounts of waste, even into areas where access is difficult. 

When using commercial bin tippers that are waterproof and easy to clean, commercial food preparation organizations also have the option of using bin tippers to lift heavy inventory into hoppers, among other uses. While available in a range of sizes, on average bin tippers can easily lift a bin weighing 150 lb (70 kg).

Because options like the SBT bin tipper from Power Knot are able to fit through standard doors, making it easy to transport waste in and out of facilities, organizations can gain greater workflow efficiency further up the value stream. In addition, the use of bin tippers negates the need for garbage liners. Because there’s no need for a liner to simplify the process of waste disposal, kitchens can prevent the mingling of garbage liner plastic and organic waste that can block efforts for more sustainable food waste disposal.

Find the most efficient option for your workflow

Food preparation organizations have more options for organic waste disposal than ever. As a result, it’s important to factor workflow efficiency into the waste disposal process. The sustainability solution most likely to succeed is the one that is easy to integrate into your existing operational workflow. 

Want to learn more about how the SBT Bin Tipper can improve your efficiency? Contact Power Knot  today.