Technology to help reduce food waste will be introduced across buffet restaurants owned by Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd (Melco Resorts) after a successful trial.
An initial six-month trial of the technology at Melco Resorts’ City of Dreams Macau on Cotai has seen food waste in the employee dining area reduced by 67 percent, saving 3,915 kg of waste or the equivalent of about 17 tonnes of CO2.
Using a camera, a set of smart scales and the same type of machine learning technology found in autonomous vehicles, the system employed by Melco Resorts learns to recognise the food being discarded, and calculates the financial and environmental impact of that waste. Chefs can then use the information to adjust their food purchasing decisions, reducing spending and tackling a fundamental problem in overproduction.
The firm will now roll out the technology to customer-facing dining areas, such as its own-operated buffets. The system, called Winnow Vision, forms part of the company’s sustainability strategy “Above and Beyond”.
Melco Resorts’ chief sustainability officer, Denise Chen, said the initiative would help the group gain full understanding of food services operational efficiency as the organisation works towards its goal of achieving zero waste by 2030.
The Winnow Vision technology is used in more than 40 countries around the world, saving the equivalent of more than 36 million meals from being wasted.