John o’Groats Journal & Caithness Courier – Gregor White

Food and drink businesses in the Highland Council area interested in improving environmental performance by reducing food waste are being encouraged to join a new group.

The new ‘in-vessel composting’ common interest group, launching in April, will help members to explore shared challenges and ideas relating to managing food waste.

In-vessel composting is where food waste is composted close to source in an enclosed container with temperature control and monitoring. For the right size of businesses, this can save costs while producing valuable compost.

The group is led by SAC Consulting on behalf of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and is part of the Food and Drink TechHUB support service for the sector, delivered in partnership with Lochaber Environmental Group and the Highland Good Food Partnership. Both are partners within the Highland Community Waste Partnership.

It will provide businesses, including those with food services such as hotels, with the opportunity to work with like-minded entrepreneurs with specialist support on the challenges and opportunities associated with food waste management.

Catriona Ramsay, business development manager in HIE’s Northern Innovation Hub (NIH) team, said: “This new group will help food and drink producers and start-ups to reduce the environmental impact of food waste. For small-scale businesses, an in-vessel composter has the potential to cut waste disposal costs.”