Credit: Eco Clarity
Parent company Big Table partners with GreaseTech and Eco Clarity to trial tech converting commercial kitchen grease into biofuel
The hospitality firm behind Bella Italia, Las Iguanas, Frankie & Benny's, and Cafe Rouge has joined a grease-to-energy trial that aims to convert commercial kitchen waste into biofuel.
Big Table, which operates over 230 sites across the UK, has partnered with grease management company GreaseTech Drainage Solutions and engineering technology company Eco Clarity to trial grease recovery units in 25 restaurant kitchens.
While fat, oil, and grease (FOG) are common by products of restaurants and food processing facilities, disposal has long posed an environmental and financial challenge.
Water companies have complained too much FOG enters either landfill or sewers and drains, where it can harden and cause costly blockages, dubbed 'fatbergs'. An estimated 200,000 sewer blockages occur each year, with FOG cited as the cause in around 75 per cent of cases.
However, the waste material can be turned into carbon-cutting biofuels and the new M62 Corridor Project aims to harness Eco Clarity's northern FOG Recovery Hubs in Hull, Stockport, and Stanlow, and GreaseTech's expertise in maintaining grease recovery units and grease traps at Big Table's participating sites to source biofuel feedstocks.
Hosted at facilities operated by Yorkshire Water, United Utilities, and Argent Energy, Eco Clarity's hubs turn tankered liquid waste containing FOG into a feedstock for biofuels, alongside a clean water stream ready for discharge or further processing for reuse.
Karl Tindall, facilities manager at Big Table Group, said he was optimistic the trial could be expanded to at least 230 locations for brands including Bella Italia, Las Iguanas, Frankie & Benny's and Cafe Rouge.
"We've always been very conscious of putting grease recovery units in and managing our FOG correctly," said Tindall. "Now we've got an opportunity to know exactly where it's going when it leaves our sites too.
"We're the first hospitality company to do it, but we want to encourage other restaurant businesses to get involved too and help open doors so we can get more awareness about the multiple environmental benefits of this initiative. It's a no-brainer for the hospitality sector."
Rob Thomas, commercial director at GreaseTech, said the company was excited to be part of a "pioneering project".
"We've been working very closely with Big Table Group to manage their grease management requirements and recognised the opportunity to present Eco Clarity to BTG as a solution for their FOG disposal," he said. "Across our customer base, we already specify, supply, service and maintain grease recovery units at some 3,400 sites nationally, but Eco Clarity has made it possible to start recovering and reusing this waste.
"The sampling shows that 60 per cent of the waste is reusable, which represents a step-change in sustainable waste management for food service establishments."
Chris Clemes, chief executive at Eco Clarity, added that hospitality sector has a major role to play in helping capture the benefits of FOG.
"We could not be more excited about having Big Table Group and GreaseTech onboard for the next phase of this initiative, which is the M62 Corridor Project," he said.
"Not only does sustainable management of FOG provide a valuable biofuel resource, it ensures that restaurant kitchens run more efficiently, avoiding risk of pipe blockages, non-compliance and reputational harm."
Eco Clarity ultimately hopes to roll out between 30 and 40 FOG Recovery Hubs across the UK and bring more hospitality venues on board.
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