Sep 11
6
Goals of Proper Garbage Treatment
The restaurant industry can accumulate a lot of waste products and garbage at the end of the day, and it is the duty of the kitchen steward to make sure that the waste products and garbage are disposed of properly. However, it should be noted that there is a proper way of disposing of garbage as well as goals to proper garbage treatment, and it is not just throwing everything into a trash bin.
One of the goals of proper garbage treatment is to encourage practical use of natural resources, and this is commonly done through proper segregation of waste products and recycling. Look at it this way, if all restaurant place all of their trash in one container and not segregate them according to recyclable and on-recyclable trash, then they will all go to the landfill site. Not only will add harmful effects to the environment, but it is also wasting precious natural resources. Now, if a restaurant segregates their trash, then those recyclable garbage can be recycled back into something useful.
Another goal of proper garbage treatment is to promote safe handling of waste products. If, for example, broken bottles are mixed in with fruit and vegetable peelings, then the broken pieces might harm the kitchen steward if he is not careful enough in transporting the garbage from the trash bin to the garbage dumpster outside of the restaurant. For this reason, the kitchen steward is taught the appropriate procedure in throwing away specific waste materials such as used oil, chemicals, broken bottles, paper, etc.
Proper garbage treatment also aims to deter pest invasion. If all waste materials are mixed in together, then there is a higher risk for pests such as rodents, flies, cockroaches, among others, invading the garbage dumpster and making it their home. They can make the empty bottles and cans as their homes, and this will certainly pose an increased risk to the health of the restaurant staff as well as the guests. Now, with proper handling of garbage and proper segregation, the chances of this happening are greatly reduced. Furthermore, proper segregation of waste and proper disposal also promotes cleanliness and hygiene.
Last and the most important goal of proper garbage disposal is to maintain the cleanliness and hygiene of the whole place. This is done so as to ensure that the guests of the restaurant as well as its staff are kept safe from food-borne illnesses and other diseases caused by dirty surroundings. Look at it this way. If the garbage or the dumpster area is very dirty, with recyclable and non-recyclable waste materials mixed in together, then you can be sure that there are millions of pests living in the dumpster area. Flies, lizards, beetles, mice, cockroaches, worms, etc. are going to make it their home, and these pests could get into the kitchen and spread there. If the pest problem becomes uncontrollable, then the restaurant could suffer from bad publicity. Worse, the pest problems could contaminate the food products, thus, endangering the health and safety of the guests and the restaurant’s staff. If this happens, then the restaurant could face a lawsuit and their license to operate could be revoked.
The Stewarding Department should really be vigilant when it comes to proper waste management and maintenance of the restaurant’s hygiene and cleanliness. They should also be very watchful when it comes to pest control.