Team 4 Members: Nour Alabudi - Jodi Jarrar - Mohamad Mahmoud - Mohammad Fouad Farooq

ENGL 210-502
Dr. Naqaa Abbas
Problem Statement Final Draft
Due Date: 25 March 2023

PROBLEM STATEMENT: Restaurant Food Waste in Qatar

PROBLEM

While food is unquestionably an integral part of survival, culture, and society and represents a
significant resource investment, food waste has become a more common and central problem.
The problem of food waste generally means food suitable for human consumption, which is
destroyed or disposed of at different levels and stages of th<e supply chain - from production to
customer consumption at restaurants.

In Europe, the second source of food waste generated at the consumption level occurs in
restaurants following households (Brautigam et al., 2014; Monier et al., 2010), and in Italy, this
tendency is continued with household food waste which amounts to as much as 54%, followed
by restaurant waste amounting to 21% (Coldiretti, 2017). A similar situation can be seen in the
US, where families and restaurants waste approximately 39 million tons of food annually (Buzby
et al., 2011).

Although much research has been carried out at the household level, the same cannot be said
for the food waste generated by the hospitality sector, which includes food served in
restaurants, hotels, canteens, and by catering services. To date, in-depth studies have not been
carried out on this phenomenon at the academic and practical levels (Principato, 2018; Pirani &
Arafat, 2016; Schneider, 2013). Indeed, most restaurant food waste studies have focused on the
amount instead of the underlying causes (Heikkilä et al., 2016).

Reducing food waste not only has a positive impact on the environment but it also reduces
associated economic costs. While from the financial point of view, it has been demonstrated that
for each dollar spent on reducing food waste, there is a return on investment of 14 Dollars, and
restaurants appear to be the companies with the highest returns (Hanson & Mitchell, 2017).
Food waste represents a severe issue and economic cost for the restaurant industry (WRAP,
2013a). According to a recent study conducted in the UK, the amount of food wasted by the
hospitality sector amounts to more than £682 million GBP per year, including food procurement,
labor and service costs, utilities, and waste management costs (WRAP, 2013a). Considering the
economic losses and environmental and social damage, it is essential to identify the factors
contributing to the amount of food wasted in restaurants. In fact, the less food wasted, the fewer
the related impacts, which would improve the sustainability of the entire food service sector
(Heikkilä et al., 2016). According to WRAP (2013b), the main causes behind restaurant food

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waste generation occur in the preparation phase (45%) or are due to food deterioration (21%)
and food scraps left by clients (34%). According to the USDA, the restaurant industry loses
$162 billion annually due to wasted food. Some of the many reasons for this waste: are
overproduction, lack of awareness, unsuccessful employee training, improper food storage, and
lack of access to composting facilities.

The Food and Environment Protection Project implemented by Georgetown University has
found that 90% of the waste in Qatar is food waste (Aktas et al., 2017).

Around one-third of the world's food goes to waste, which is equal to 1.3 billion tons of food and
an estimated $1 trillion in costs. A recent United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) project
in Doha revealed that food waste in Doha ranged between 0.7 kg and 1.5 kg per person per
day. (UNEP 2021) This food waste in Qatar is disposed of in landfills, which have a finite
capacity and are rapidly filling up. This harms the ecosystem because methane, emitted during
the breakdown of organic waste, remains in the atmosphere for a longer period than carbon
dioxide.

Furthermore, a 2019 study by Qatar University discovered that food waste raises the price of
food by increasing demand for it. High prices negatively impact society when fewer individuals
can afford healthy meals. According to research organization ECOMENA, the Middle East's
worst food waste rate is found in Qatar, where the average Qatari citizen wastes up to 250
kilograms of food annually, compared to just 70 kg in other countries (ECOMENA,2014).

Qatar National Vision 2030 was organized into four pillars: human development, social
development, economic development, and environmental development. QNV 2030 identifies the
need for sustainable development in order to balance the interests of the current generation with
the interests of future generations and emphasizes the need for preventive measures to mitigate
the effects of climate change. The Government of Qatar has pledged to implement the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development, including Target 12.3 on food waste. Reducing food
waste is also included in the country's Second National Development Strategy (2018- 2022),
which targets reducing and preventing waste. As a team, we believe this problem is intriguing
since finding a solution will enhance the pillars of Qatar's National Vision 2030. `

PURPOSE

This study aims to investigate the causes of food waste in Qatar within the context of food
security and environmental sustainability and how the high rate of restaurant food wastage in
Qatar has increased and turned into a complicated issue threatening the environment and to
determine the contributing factors in order to increase sustainability throughout the entire food
industry due to the environmental, social, and economic effects of restaurant food waste.
Moreover, this study aims to provide a solution that raises awareness and promotes consumer
culture that defines his rights and duties, in addition to helping and encouraging restaurant
managers and customers in Qatar to reduce restaurant food wastage, which has a massive
effect on the environment, economy, and society. Ensuring leftovers are managed sustainably
and effectively strengthens agri-food systems and contributes to food security, safety, and

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quality. Food waste can be reduced by considering food waste at food service and consumption
levels.

SCOPE

Millions of tons of food are wasted annually in the world, adding to the environmental, social,
and economic problems (Stop Wasting Food, 2017). Food waste is a major global concern, as
seen in Figure 1, and reducing it must be a main focus area. It may include products that are
thrown away despite still being fit for consumption for various reasons, including spoilage,
overproduction, expiration, or aesthetic imperfections.

Figure 1:Waste composition for various regions (Source:Abdelaal, Ali Hassan Ali, 2017,
p.1) .

Food waste is a deeply ingrained global issue since it is entirely normalized in domestic and
public institutions. However, the focus of our research will concentrate primarily on food waste
that occurs in Qatar restaurants and creating an innovative and effective product that will
significantly decrease the food wastage. Food waste has been reported as high in Qatar as a
result of social customs and traditions that control consumption patterns. A large amount of food
is ordered at restaurants and the leftovers are thrown away, even if the food was not touched.
Moreover, consumer behavior has a significant impact on restaurant food waste (Elawad et al.,
2018).

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OBJECTIVE
The primary objective is to develop and design a product that will alter the habits leading to food
wastage in restaurants. This product will need to:

● Feature a user-friendly layout and a reasonable price to enable accessibility to a wide

range of people.
● Be versatile in order to be used for different types of food products.
● Ensure sustainability by being environmentally friendly.
● Be efficient in minimizing the amount of food being thrown away.
● Be safe to use and handle and not pose any health risks to the consumers.

To achieve the primary purpose of this project, the following measures should be taken:
● Conduct primary and secondary research to develop a more in-depth understanding of
the food wastage problem.
● Highlight the importance of this issue.
● Gather information about previous solutions that can be implemented to solve this
problem, and their design constraints.
● Understand consumers' needs and constraints by gathering feedback from the audience.

The product will be assessed by surveying customers for their opinions, tracking product orders,
and examining consumer ratings and reviews. This will guarantee the efficiency of the efforts
made.

PREVIOUS RESEARCH
Food waste in restaurants has always been an issue, and it negatively contributes to the
economy, environment, and the public. On a global scale, food waste occurs in many sectors,
with restaurants being one of the top contributors in producing food waste - one way or another.

A study done for the UK by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) showed that
around 10 million tons of food and drink were wasted annually in the UK in 2012. This is
important to note because this amount is worth over £20 billion and creates around 22 million
tons of greenhouse gases, greatly harming the environment. In addition, over two million tons

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were being wasted in the hospitality and food sectors alone, where 75% of the waste could have
been avoided if necessary arrangements had been made. The studies also showed that 21% of
the food waste was due to spoilage, 45% was due to inadequate food preparation, and 34%
was from consumer plates (Willshees, 2022).

Figure 2: Food waste in hospitality and food service sub sectors (Source: Willshees,
2022).

This chart shows the division of food waste in hospitality and food service sub-sectors. As
shown, hotels contributed 79,000 tons of food waste, pubs with 173,000 food waste, restaurants
275,000, and the other sectors had 393,000 in the UK (Willshees, 2022). This study
demonstrates how the restaurants contributed significantly to the food waste produced.
Similarly, these sectors are similar in that they deal with hospitality and serving food to
consumers daily. This is critical because if a business is centered around mainly serving food
and resulting in vast amounts of food waste, it begs into question why there are copious
amounts of food waste.

Looking at the closer countries to the UK, Ireland also had a lot of food waste in the hospitality
sector. The chart below shows the percentage of food waste in 2008 for each industry in Ireland,
a few years before the study for the UK.

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 Figure 3: Food Waste Producing Sectors and Their Percentages (Source: Stop Food
Waste, Food waste in your business).

This chart shows the percentages of food waste, and comparing it with the study above, it can
be demonstrated that hotels, restaurants, and bars are common in both charts. These studies
demonstrate that food waste in restaurants was very high, with a share of 15% of the total food
waste in 2008. This also shows how big of a problem food waste produced by restaurants poses
(Stop Food Waste, Food waste in your business).

Figure 4: Food Waste In Restaurants (Source: 2019).

This chart shows the amount of food waste in the US, the amount that ends up in landfills, the
amount of food that ends up being thrown - even though it could be reused for something else -

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and the amount of methane gas produced from the food waste in landfills. This shows the vast
number of food waste that is a huge issue because of these large amounts that could be
prevented.

Adding to the study above, in the US, food waste is more common at large restaurants in
comparison to smaller ones. 45% of the food waste produced in restaurants occurs at the
preparation stage, 21% because of ineffective and improper storage methods, and 34% when
customers consume the food. This was because the customers tended to leave behind food
scraps on their plates and did not finish them completely (Chang, 2021).

All these values were also relevant when looking at studies done in the Education City in Qatar,
where there was much food waste from restaurants. A study aimed to investigate the issue of
food waste in Qatar: Education City (EC) was done. Food waste generation at the sampled
locations in Education City was estimated to be 329.5 kg/day or 80 tons annually. Estimations of
food waste per person show that 193 g/day and 314 g/day were made by members of the male
and female housing, respectively. This research showed that food waste was due to
overproduction, not consumer waste. This in turn, shows the responsibilities of restaurants and
their roles in attempting their best to reduce the amount of food waste they produce, whether in
the preparation process or customer consumption process (Abdelaal, 2017).

PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS
The problem of food wastage in restaurants is severe. It has been addressed in recent years by
different organizations and countries, which have put forward some solutions and applications to
tackle this severe matter.

Hanmi Flexible Co., Ltd. designed a food recycling product in order to reduce food waste and
protect the environment. The product works in a way that it can convert leftover food into useful
compost that can be used for gardening purposes and added to the soil of plants for nutrients.
The composter uses “ReencleMicrobe,” a natural microorganism that can multiply when properly
grown and nourished. It is made from food, is harmless to the environment, and converts food
waste into high-quality fertilizer. The compost can be spread over gardens or small plants,
enriching the soil with valuable nutrients (Fact Qatar, 2023). This is a practical solution as it
makes good use of food that would otherwise go wasted.

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Too Good To Go was launched in Copenhagen in 2016 to combat the crippling issue of food
wastage in restaurants. Their app allows restaurants and food vendors to sell items that are
about to be wasted at a price lesser than the actual one. Customers also have access to the
app and can see which restaurants near them are selling their favorite foods. The app has
become more famous and is widely used in 17 countries. (Christian Mouysset, 2019).

In 2016-17, Wardah Mamukoya, an Indian national, founded an organization called Wahab

focused towards reducing food wastage in Qatar. Wahab has tried to make efforts towards
donating extra food to charities that would be wasted. The organization has its volunteers who
collect and distribute food to the designated food banks. They also put a lot of emphasis on
educating people and increasing awareness about the dangers of food wastage and hope to
see a shift in people’s attitudes for the better (Bissada, 2017).

Moreover, the Public Works Authority “Ashgal” in Qatar utilized a solution for food wastage
where leftover food was converted to fertilizer with the help of a recycling machine, “Eco Probe
EP-25”. This idea can help solve the problem of food waste and be beneficial for the health of
plants. This is also expected to help reduce carbon emissions from food wastage (Newspaper,
2022).

USER NEEDS
To design solutions to this problem, it is essential to understand the causes of food waste in
restaurants and know the users who are affected by it most. Overbuying is one of the reasons
why food gets wasted. Sometimes people buy more food than they need, resulting in excess
food that goes bad before it can be consumed.

Moreover, over portioning also leads to food waste. Restaurants may serve larger portions than
customers can eat. This can lead to an accumulation of excess food that usually goes to waste.
Food vendors also throw away food near the expiration date, even if it is safe to consume.

Miscommunication between the kitchen staff and servers as well as errors in customers orders
leads to extra food being wasted in restaurants. Furthermore, buffet style dining can cause
customers to fill up their plates to the extent that they can not finish their food or might not like it.

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Users affected by food waste primarily are the owners of the restaurant since their money is
spent on the food that gets discarded without being used. Therefore, it can be seen as an
economic loss to the restaurant. The staff of the restaurant is also affected by this problem as it
is usually their job to dispose of the excess food, which might be unpleasant. People who are
needy and don’t have access to food are also part of the primarily affectees when it comes to
food waste because the food does not get donated to them and aggravates the problem of
hunger and food insecurity.

Therefore, it is critical to keep these user needs in mind when developing solutions to food
waste in restaurants:

● Convenience: Solutions that are easy to implement on a daily basis and convenient to
use are more likely to be successful.
● Affordable: Solutions that are economically friendly and save money in the long term are
more likely to be used by different households.
● Health and Safety: Any solution developed should keep the health and safety of its users
at the forefront when it comes to storing food at safe temperatures and expiry dates.

RESTAURANT CONSTRAINTS
There are many things that restaurant owners must consider when dealing with food waste and
its prevention:
● Proper menu planning must be done by restaurants to ensure a minimal amount of food
waste is produced. For example, restaurants should not buy large amounts of
ingredients for dishes that are expected to be less popular in comparison to other menu
items. In addition to that, they should also make a reasonable estimation on the amount
of sales each menu item is expected to have daily in order to have an approximation on
the number of ingredients they need.
● Proper storage in the restaurant should also be available in order to minimize the
amount of food waste due to spoilage. For example, the restaurants should use enough
refrigerators and freezers to efficiently store food and ingredients.
● Restaurants should also have staff who are properly trained to perform their duties
efficiently to reduce the food waste produced. For example, the employees should be
trained to prepare certain foods and adequately handle the food waste produced to
minimize the waste that could have occurred due to more ingredients being thrown out.

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 ● Restaurants should also take into account the amount of food that each menu item has
to avoid over-serving the customers food, resulting in leftovers and an increase in food
waste.

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