Rattle Owl restaurant in York, recycles with ReFood

The Rattle Owl in Micklegate has teamed up with the UK’s leading food waste recycler ReFood to get their food waste collected and recycled.

Last year the restaurant, which is owned by Clarrie O’Callaghan, was named in the Michelin Guide and a month earlier they were visited by AA inspectors and were awarded two stars as a result.

Clarrie O’Callaghan

The team has been keen to find an environmental solution to deal with its food waste. Be this shells, bones and gristle, spoiled produce or scrapings from patrons’ plates, it’s a waste stream that is difficult to avoid.

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To tackle the issue head on they turned to ReFood, and now the waste is taken to their anaerobic digestion (AD) facility in Doncaster. Here, food waste is broken down in the absence of oxygen, with the resulting methane released captured and used to generate renewable energy.

Even the resulting digestate can be repurposed; as a sustainable biofertiliser to help local farmers aid crop growth. Nothing is wasted.

The Rattle Owl in Micklegate (Image: Newsquest)

Head chef Tom Heywood said: “For every hospitality venue, food waste is a serious issue. Indeed, across the UK, the sector generates millions of tonnes every year – the vast majority of which is, unfortunately, sent to landfill.

“While we’ve designed our menu to maximise sustainability and reduce our carbon footprint, food waste is still a problem. As such, we wanted to find a solution whereby we kept our environmental impact to a minimum, while still offering the extremely high standards our patrons have come to expect.

“Having researched a number of different options, we came across ReFood – the UK’s leading food waste recycler – a business experienced in helping venues similar to ours cut their carbon footprint by collecting and disposing of unwanted food waste. Following a number of meetings with the team, we rolled-out the ReFood service and haven’t looked back since.

“Full bins are collected and swapped with sanitised replacements that can be used directly in kitchen areas. This means our chefs can separate waste at source and recycle waste without having to disrupt their routine.

“As a result of recycling our food waste, we’ve not only found an environmentally-friendly solution for an unavoidable waste stream, but we’ve also managed to eliminate the need for our chefs to send food waste to landfill.”

Head chef Tom Heywood

Philip Simpson, commercial director at ReFood UK, said: “The Rattle Owl is an excellent example of a restaurant really committing to sustainability. We’re proud to help the business reduce its carbon footprint even further, by turning waste into renewable power and sustainable fertiliser – a completely closed-loop solution.

“For busy hospitality venues, simplicity and cost are key. Our recycling solution is incredibly straightforward and easy to adopt, while also being cheaper than conventional waste management solutions.”