Prevention Meets Payoff – Practical Waste Reduction Assistance for Restaurants

Restaurants nationwide are facing high food prices, increased labor costs, and slimmer profit margins spurred by continued inflation and market volatility. At the same time, REFED reports that U.S restaurants generate 11.4 million tons of food waste, at a cost of over $25 billion annually. Preventing wasted food and replacing disposable service ware with reusables are accessible strategies with the potential to lessen cost pressures and increase margins for restaurants.

Denver restaurants are stepping up to eliminate the concept of waste from their operations and becoming important partners to achieving the City’s zero-waste and climate goals in the process. Since 2024, CET and Diversion Designers have been supporting the City and County of Denver with waste prevention technical assistance programs for local restaurants ahead of their September 1, 2026, compliance date for the City’s Universal Recycling and Composting Ordinance. The team has supported over 50 restaurants in their journeys to waste reduction, by developing customized strategies for wasted food reduction and assisting the implementation of reusable service ware. These actions support restaurants’ triple-bottom line by reducing costs, lowering carbon emissions, and generating revenue from edible food. In this session, we will showcase Denver’s innovative programs, share case studies, and report on lessons learned.