Pride on our Plates: The Fight to Reduce Food Waste in China’s Restaurants 

A pilot project explores the challenges of sustainable dining in China.

SHENZHEN, China –

Chen Qiyong spends his workdays sorting out food waste left behind from lavish banquets. In the gleaming kitchen where he works, countless plates piled with uneaten food stream in under the stark white lights. 

“Only we old folks are willing to do this kind of dirty job. Younger people wouldn’t want to,” says Chen, a 50-something cleaner at the Chinese restaurant in Shenzhen’s YM Gold Olives Harmony International Hotel. Nearby, another colleague chimes in while tugging on a pair of gloves. “They wear out too fast— we buy 25 pairs at a time, just in case,” she adds. 

Food waste accounts for nearly half of the total municipal solid waste in the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen. Much of the fast-growing city’s food waste comes from its catering industry, where it ends up in the hands of workers like Chen. 

Meanwhile, incineration and landfilling remain the dominant waste treatment methods in Chinese cities, both among the highest-emitting options. China’s food system is a major source of the country’s emissions, producing roughly 1.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent—around the same as the total annual emissions of Russia, the world’s fourth largest polluter. High levels of food waste are among the main factors behind these rising food emissions. 

While figures vary depending on methodologies, a 2019 Nature study found a staggering 349 million tons of food—27% of the country’s total production—went uneaten in China each year. Urban restaurants alone wasted at least 34 million tons, enough food to feed up to 49 million people, according to a 2020 government survey. 

“At least one-third of food produced globally is wasted, representing a massive loss of natural resource like water, energy, and land,” says Yvonne Wang, a Program Manager in the Beijing office of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). “If we take action to stop the waste, the impact could be huge.” Tackling food waste is also crucial for China to achieve its climate goals. The country pledged to begin reducing carbon emissions by 2030 and attain carbon neutrality by 2060. 

Recognizing this urgency, the Shenzhen One Planet Foundation (OPF) launched Pride on Our Plates in September 2020 together with WWF Beijing, Rare Europe, and Rare China Center for Behavior. The project helps small and medium-sized restaurants implement waste-reduction strategies though a practical framework and staff training, beginning with pilot projects in six cities across China, including Shenzhen and Beijing. 

In its four-and-a-half years of existence, the project has helped 50 restaurants across China reduce their food waste, including 10 medium-sized hotels with in-house restaurants in Shenzhen. Moreover, Pride on Our Plates has helped to push forward progressive policy changes at the national level, contributing to the formulation of an industry standard that was later endorsed by the central government, Wang says. The food waste reduction implementation guide, which the team developed with the state-affiliated China Hospitality Association (CHA) in Beijing, served as a key reference in a late-2024 national action plan for regional governments and businesses. This broader official plan encourages its adoption to reduce food waste across China’s food systems. 

These achievements, however, obscure the significant hurdles the project faced in its early stages. Wang recalled the pilot project’s rocky start. Amid the sporadic harsh lockdowns in China during the COVID-19 pandemic, recruiting restaurants proved far more difficult than anticipated. Progress toward the team’s initial goal of enlisting 100 restaurants was slowed by the pandemic’s impact on the local catering industry. Restaurant owners, struggling to stay afloat, were hesitant to take on additional commitments. To encourage them to participate, the team partnered with local industry associations, offering media exposure opportunities. Still, it took the team more than a year to finish the recruitment amid other preparation work. 

The team also conducted a baseline survey on food loss and waste in the sector before launching training workshops. With the pandemic limiting in-person sessions, most early training took place online. It was a time of uncertainty, with participants coming and going, Wang recalled. “We train staff on waste sorting, weighing, and key procedures,” she says. “Once they leave, we have to start all over again.” 

Three restaurants they partnered with in the southern tropical city of Sanya even went bankrupt midway through the project. “It really showed us just how tough this industry can be,” she says. 

A Long Battle Against Wasted Food 

Chinese authorities have long sought to reduce food waste, viewing it as a threat to food security in the populous country. But its growing middle class and traditional hospitality practices that encourage over-ordering complicate these efforts. To address the food waste issue, China even passed an “Anti- Food Waste Law” in 2021, which included provisions mandating governments at all levels to monitor and evaluate sources of food waste and allowing restaurants to take practical measures, like charging customers a disposal fee for unfinished food. 

In recent years, public debates about food waste on the national stage have intensified, driven in part by years of advocacy work from organizations like OPF and WWF, which actively engages with state media, including the government-owned China Central Television, and online influencers. This increased awareness coincides with economic pressures on the restaurant industry, prompting many businesses to recognize the cost-saving benefits of reducing food waste. 

However, in 2020, there was still a “gap” in initiatives supporting small and medium-sized business in their food waste reduction efforts, despite their significant role in the catering industry and food chain. According to Yu Xin, program director at WWF China and lead on the project, this gap was the primary reason behind the creation of Pride on Our Plates. 

The G Shenzhen, A Tribute Portfolio Hotel, which opened in 2021 as a Marriott property and operates three in-house restaurants, has benefited from the food waste reduction initiative, according to general manager and project participant Jin Haiwei. The initiative, he adds, has also helped the hotel manage operational costs by identifying key areas for improvement across procurement, quality control, stocking, food preparation, and the ordering process. 

Food scraps, a major source of waste in the past, are now being put to good use at The G Shenzhen Hotel, according to Jin. Previously, these unused portions were discarded in the pursuit of perfect-looking dishes. Now, they’re either reused to feed hotel staff or transformed into creative new dishes, such as cold dishes made with radish peels, celery leaves, or corn silk. 

Given that food catering represents half of the hotel’s revenue, such efforts are essential. “It’s not that we ignored food loss management before,” he says, “but our past efforts were fragmented, not comprehensive.” 

To help restaurants track food waste, the project team developed a WeChat mini-program for daily data entry and automatic analysis of waste reduction. Initially, it lacked a way to input the number of customers, leading to discrepancies. 

“Our food waste fluctuates significantly with the seasons,” explains Fenny Luo, Food Safety Manager at The G Shenzhen Hotel. During periods dominated by buffets and Western-style dishes, the hotel’s restaurants generate up to 400 kilograms of waste daily. However, this figure can soar to 1,750 kilograms— equivalent to five full barrels—during peak season for Chinese banquets. Based on feedback from Luo and others, the project team updated the program, allowing for more accurate tracking of waste. 

By the end of the one-year pilot in late 2024, all participating restaurants had met their baseline goal, reducing food waste by at least 10 percent compared to the previous year. However, banquet seasons have proven to be an enduring challenge. 

These feasts, typically featuring a full table of grand and elaborate Chinese dishes to symbolize hospitality and prestige, often lead to significantly more food waste than the more measured French or Japanese dishes. According to Luo, the hotel managed to halve their food waste between April and August last year but quickly lost those gains when the banquet season arrived. “Controlling the number after September was just too difficult,” Luo says. 

Balancing food waste management and hospitality is a delicate act, says Chen Zhikun, Food and Beverage Manager at Harmony International Hotel: “We certainly don’t want guests to feel unwelcome or that the food is insufficient.” Once, he adds, the in-house restaurant tried to adjust the amount of set dishes to reduce leftovers, only to receive immediate complaints from customers. Similar things happened at The G Shenzhen Hotel. 

Aware of these challenges, the project team views the pilot as just the beginning. They now plan to develop more detailed guidelines to address banquet seasons while continuing to promote responsible food consumption. They are also hoping to calculate the carbon reduction benefits and cost savings from this project. 

What the project has delivered for participating businesses may soon be put to the test, as Shenzhen plans to pilot stricter emissions standards for its hotels. Managers like Jin believe the project experience has come at the right time, helping them to prepare for the test and “get up to speed on reducing carbon emissions.” 

Project Leader Yu Xin says that the experience has also been personally fulfilling. “We are quite proud of what we have achieved,” she says. “You get to see that change is possible. 

Learn more about Pride on our Plates.

Author: Yuan Ye
Photographer: Xioa Nan