How Does Disney Reduce Waste? By Recycling Food, Of Course!

Every year when I cover EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival, I wonder what the Walt Disney Company does with all the leftover food, unserved meals, and scraps. Because I’m a cynical jerk, I answer my own question by saying it’s probably recycled for the following seasonal festival.

Well, I’m not exactly wrong.

While Disney isn’t headed toward a dystopian MegaCity-like future where recycled food is an option for the cash-strapped, a lot goes on behind the scenes to deal with the excess. That means making the most of all the uneaten and half-eaten meals.

Although Disney has been efficiently managing its waste problem for some time, guests have had little to do with it until recently. However, allowing the public to join in on repurposing food scraps is only now being tested at a few of the company’s California-based parks.

According to USA Today, three Disneyland and California Adventure eateries have added new sorting bins for food only. Guests can toss their recyclable materials into one of three bins: general trash, food, and recycling (cans, glass, plastic, paper).

While Disney’s efforts to efficiently handle waste behind the scenes are commendable, there’s always room for improvement, especially when it comes to involving guests in the process. The new initiative to introduce sorting bins for food scraps at select California-based parks is a step in the right direction.

It’s a way for visitors to actively contribute to reducing waste and promoting sustainability while enjoying their time at the park.

And, while Disney has the resources to manage waste on a grand scale, smaller-scale operations, like local businesses or festivals, can adopt similar strategies by incorporating systems like Skip Bins for their waste management. These bins allow for easy segregation of food waste and recyclables, ensuring that materials are disposed of in an eco-friendly manner.

Ultimately, every effort counts when it comes to managing waste, and whether it’s at Disneyland or your local festival, taking small, sustainable actions can have a big impact on reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.

The food scrap program has been working behind the curtain for some time. The waste is being processed by vendors into animal feed. So, in a way, we are eating recycled food. Hang on… I was wrong. We’re rapidly spiraling toward a grim MegaCity future! Ahhhhhhhhh!

OK, this isn’t a bad thing at all. Besides, many unserved meals get donated to local food banks. If you’ve ever worked for a charity serving the homeless, you’ll know what a godsend it is to have a massive company donate truckloads of food.

While it is easy to rag on Disney for a lot of things, which it rightfully deserves, the conservation efforts do need recognition. I do wish, however, that Disney would give guests a discount on ticket prices if we made conscience “green” decisions while in the parks. I’ll sort my garbage more thoroughly for a 10% discount, Mr. Mouse!

[Source: USA Today]