When feeding large groups of people in a cafeteria, unloading and cleaning dishes and trays can require a significant amount of time and money. Additionally, if each dish and each tray has to be individually scraped and loaded, a great deal of manpower is utilized to clean the dishes. A simple solution to reducing the amount of time involved in cleaning the dishes is to implement a self-busing system.
A self-busing system requires those eating in the cafeteria to dispose of their own trash and, if reusable trays and ware are used, return their trays and utensils to a tray accumulator that automatically transports dishes through a warewasher. If disposable trays and ware are utilized in the self-busing system, the entire contents from the meal are then thrown by the self-buser into a pulper. In addition to reducing the amount of staff needed, self-busing also keeps the cafeteria clean, as each person is responsible for cleaning up after himself.
To accommodate the self-busing system, manufacturers have developed warewashers that can clean dishes coming through a conveyor. In addition to the warewashers, Somat, a waste-reduction technology company, has also developed other equipment that complements the self-busing system and assists in reducing labor and waste.
An example of this equipment is Somat’s Waste-Pulping System. This system starts with self-busers depositing their waste into a pass-thru window that not only keeps the cafeteria free of clutter, odor and trash cans, but it also ensures trash is never handled by staff. On the other side of the pass-thru window, inside of the kitchen, the waste from the self-buser falls into a pulper. The waste inside the pulper is mixed with water and is ground to slurry. The pulped waste then passes through pipes to an extractor, which reduces solids to small pieces. The extractor directly deposits solid waste to the dumpster outside the building. The free water released from the extraction system is returned back to the pulper to begin the cycle all over again, effectively recycling the water. The Somat Waste-Pulping System handles all of this waste without requiring operator intervention.
Somat’s Waste-Pulping System is praised by its operators. David Binkle, director of nutrition services at Duncanville ISD in Duncanville, Texas, said, “We installed a Somat Pulper in our Bilhartz Elementary School and C.J. & Ann Hyman Elementary School with significant results. Both schools serve 250 to 300 for breakfast and nearly 700 for lunch. Schools of this size will usually generate anywhere from 50 to 60 bags of trash, depending on whether they stack the trays or separate anything out. The schools with pulpers, however, generate only four to six bags of trash for breakfast and 10 to 12 bags for lunch, depending on the number of kids participating. So there’s much less waste for the hauler to take away. And much less waste for the landfill, too.”
A large amount of waste is often accompanied by a significant price tag. Both self-busing systems and waste-management systems can assist foodservice operations in decreasing both labor and waste and therefore reduce costs, all while benefiting the environment. For additional information on Somat’s waste-reduction technology, visit www.somatcompany.com.
Click here if you have any questions concerning this story or need additional product support from the Hobart Consultant Services Group.
