Leading UAE-based smart and green facilities management (FM) company Farnek, has composted over 290 tonnes of staff food waste over the past four years, at an average of 200kg per day, at its state-of-the-art staff accommodation centre, Farnek Village, in Dubai.
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Muna Al Nahdi, Director – Sustainability & Consultancy at Farnek
“Food waste is always a topic of conversation during Ramadan and for good reason, but it is issue year-round. It is estimated that in the UAE 38% of prepared food is thrown out annually. Unfortunately, that percentage increases by 25% during Ramadan compared to other months,” said Muna Al Nahdi, Director – Sustainability & Consultancy at Farnek.
Official figures indicate that food waste during Ramadan has increased from 2.7kg to 4.5kg per person per day, primarily due to excessive amounts of food prepared for Iftar and Suhour. The cost of this excess food is estimated at four billion dirhams a year, ranking the UAE as the fourth highest in the world per capita for discarded food.
However, the increase in food waste making its way to landfill can be countered and Farnek’s composter initiative is a prime example of how organisations can reduce their food waste, lower their carbon emissions and support the UAE’s drive towards a net zero future.
Farnek invested in a food composter with a capacity of 125 kilos which was commissioned to celebrate World Environmental Day in 2021. The machine processes all types of organic waste such as curry, roti, rice, bread, eggshells, chicken, mutton, fish, fish bones, chicken bones, fruit, fruit, vegetables, peelings and other kitchen waste.
“Food waste from the staff dining hall is emptied into the composting machine, which uses special microorganisms to break down and decompose the organic waste. The entire process reduces the original volume of waste by up to 90%, generating approximately between 12-25kg of nutrient-rich fertilizer,” commented Al Nahdi.
Food waste in landfill emits methane gas during the decomposition process, which according to experts is 25 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide (CO2). So, composting our food waste is an effective way of reducing our carbon emissions and harmful gases, as well as eliminating food disposal costs.
“Whilst serving meals to the 5,000 staff we have based at Farnek Village, we are also saving up to 400 kilos of carbon and around 200 kilos of food waste every day,” said Nahdi.
Farnek has also advised other organisations about how to manage their food waste, including hotels, commercial offices and mega sports events, concerts and entrainment destinations with large food and beverage vendors. Farnek is currently supporting du to divert more than 50kg of food waste per day from its Dubai HQ and also diverted 7.6 tons of organic waste over four days from Zayed Sports City during the Coldplay concert earlier this year.
Looking at the broader issue of waste management, Farnek through its sister company HITEK has also brought WASTEK to market – an AI-driven digital solution that can conduct waste audits, develop recycling programmes, assures regulatory compliance and monitors waste diversion performance, through data collection.
For more information, log on to www.farnek.com.
About Farnek
Farnek is the leading provider of sustainable and technology-driven Facilities Management in the United Arab Emirates. Established in the UAE since 1980, Farnek Services LLC is a Swiss-owned independent total facilities management company.
With a skilled workforce of more than 9,000 employees, Farnek delivers professional Facilities Management and security services across several sectors; Aviation, Hospitality, Banking, Retail, Shopping Malls, Telecom, Residential, Commercial, Infrastructure, Government, Education, Leisure and Entertainment.