MGTO Representatives

Note: All information is correct at the time of release.

Partner News

Melco cuts plate waste by 35% with technology and psychology

Melco has introduced psychology to its technology solution to reduce waste at its kitchens (Photo courtesy of Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd)

Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd has been using artificial intelligence to monitor and control food waste in staff areas since 2020, and has now teamed with Winnow and the London School of Economics (LSE) to design a blueprint to change behaviours, which have contributed to cut plate waste in its employee dining areas by up to 35%.

To specifically tackle the issue of plate waste, an experiment took place at Melco’s employee dining facilities in Macau, namely at City of Dreams, Studio City and Altira Macau resorts. Melco applied a technology that includes a motion sensitive camera and digital scales that record an image and weight of any food waste, which is then analysed to detect the percentage of edible and inedible waste. Plate waste fell by as much as 35% over the study period. At present, the three properties serve more than 11,000 employee meals daily.

The reductions in waste came after a series of interventions designed by the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science of the LSE as part of a study to evaluate the impact of communications that showed food as either happy or sad, to change the actions that lead to food waste.

The company is now exploring applications of the technology and communications in consumer-facing dining areas. According to Winnow, about 5% to 15% of all food purchased from a commercial kitchen ends up being wasted.