Lahti brews beer from unsold bread – shops aim to reduce food waste

<1> <2> <3> <4> <5> <6> During the coronavirus epidemic, the demand for grocery stores increased and there was less waste. Stores, however, continue to look for new ways to reduce bio-waste. <7> <8> Many stores are increasingly focusing on reducing and recycling food waste. <9> <10> Last year, waste from Kesko grocery stores decreased by 9 percent and S-ryhmä by 7 percent compared to 2019. <11> <12> Unsold bread was used at Nastola K-supermarket in Lahti … He was sent to a local brewery to make beer. <13> <14> – We had an idea to recycle the bread. The local brewer was overjoyed and began to brew beer from wheat bread. It is not a profitable business, but it is important for us to support local businesses and be responsible. We wanted the beer to be produced locally as much as possible, – says the head of the store <15> Mia Jarvipalo <16>. <17><18> This is not the end of recycling. A bakery in the neighboring municipality of Hollola uses waste from the brewing industry to bake fresh bread. <19> <20> S-ryhmä stores do not plan to use this method of using food waste, but are developing their own. For example, a restaurant was opened in Helsinki last year that uses unsold food from a store in the same building. <21>