These zero-waste pioneers are reshaping modern dining with creative solutions to sustainability’s toughest challenges.
BY JOCELYN TAN
Zero-waste. Sustainability. Farm-to-table. Nose-to-tail. These are just some of the buzzwords that have been synonymous with modern dining trends. While the shift towards more sustainable practices is celebrated as a whole amongst consumers and those in the industry alike, few truly understand the immense challenges that come with running a waste-free establishment.
But what does it take to turn this vision into reality? For pioneers like SEM in Portugal, Silo in London and Nolla in Helsinki, committing to zero-waste isn’t just a philosophy — it’s an ongoing battle against the limitations of the current food system, unpredictable supply chains, and the constant pressure to innovate. Every decision, from ingredient sourcing to kitchen waste management, requires careful planning and creativity to stay true to the zero-waste mission, all whilst serving up delicious fare. For these restaurants, there’s more beyond the glossy allure of eco-friendly initiatives.
Reality bites
Barcelona-born Albert Franch Sunyer of Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant Nolla, recalls his realisation that the traditional restaurant model was, in his words, “crooked and a little bit rotten.” Years of working in kitchens left him disillusioned by the sheer amount of waste generated nightly. “You’d have 40 guests, but the amount of garbage produced could fill a room,” Albert shares. The turning point for him came when he recognised the urgent need to take responsibility and change the industry’s damaging practices.
Similarly, Doug McMaster, founder of Silo, felt a growing frustration with the restaurant industry’s inefficiencies. When he opened Silo in 2014, it was the first zero-waste restaurant in the world. His motivation stemmed from a desire to challenge the wasteful status quo. According to Doug, he wanted to take responsibility for everything they produce, reflecting on how the waste problem begins long before ingredients even enter the kitchen.
All three establishments are part of a growing number of restaurants that are committed to preventing waste rather than just managing it. As Lara emphasises, “The goal isn’t to find ways to deal with expired food — it’s to never let that food expire in the first place.” Similarly, Albert adds that preventing waste is about thoughtful sourcing, minimal packaging, and drastically reducing energy and water consumption.
However, implementing such ambitious goals was met with scepticism. Albert reflects on how, when Nolla first launched, they were dismissed as the “guys who picked expired food from supermarket containers.” At the time, the zero-waste movement wasn’t widely understood, and many associated it solely with food waste rather than a holistic approach to resource management. SEM faced similar scepticism. “There’s always scepticism when someone comes up with a “concept” restaurant. Is it all about the concept and not the food? Or is it all greenwashing? But for us being zero-waste is not a concept, it’s an operating model. The concept is the creative cooking that arises from that operating model. We addressed the scepticism by focusing on doing our job and doing it well: delicious food, great wine and no compromises.”
Doug’s Silo famously operates without a garbage bin, illustrating how deeply the zero-waste ethos is embedded into every layer of the business. The restaurant uses its own compost machine to turn food scraps into nutrient-rich soil, which is then returned to the farms that supply Silo’s produce — a powerful example of a closed-loop system. Nolla also operates with a compost machine, complete with a software that records everything that ends up inside the composter to create data so that they can locate hotspots on where we fail the most, tackle these failures, and try to make them try to become better.
“Technically, our composter produces a pre-compost that goes back to one of our farms — usually a biodynamic farm. They use this soil-like material as bedding for their animals. Once it absorbs urine and waste, it is added to the compost pile to mature into fertiliser for the next season. This way, we ensure that the material has at least a couple of lives,” Albert explains.
Beyond just food waste
However, zero waste isn’t just about reducing food waste — it’s about addressing all forms of waste generated by the restaurant, including the often-overlooked problem of single-use packaging.
“Packaging is one of the hardest things to deal with,” Albert explains. “It’s not just about the food we serve; it’s about how that food arrives at our kitchen.” In traditional restaurant supply chains, nearly every ingredient comes wrapped in plastic — whether it’s produce from the farm, imported spices, or fresh seafood. At Nolla, Albert and his team made a firm decision to cut out single-use plastics altogether, but that came with its own set of challenges. “When we started, some suppliers just refused to work with us,” he says. “They couldn’t wrap their heads around delivering products without plastic.”
Both restaurants also had to educate suppliers. Lara mentions having to convince local farmers and vendors to cut down on single-use packaging, while Albert recounts the challenges of sourcing ingredients from within a strict 250 km radius around the Nolla.
Finding suppliers who are willing to comply with zero-waste standards requires careful vetting and, at times, convincing. Albert shares how they had to create partnerships with local producers and businesses that were open to using reusable or biodegradable containers. “It’s not always easy. Some suppliers agreed to deliver in large crates that we returned, while others opted for glass jars or cloth bags,” he says.
Lara also points out how much of their waste-free packaging effort is about communication with suppliers and producers. “Our suppliers share the same values and philosophy as us. All our suppliers go through a process of evaluation to understand their processes, measures and techniques. Farmers and fishermen follow agro-ecological practices and have environmental impact in mind at every step of their operation and we learn a lot from them every time we go for a site visit. Whenever there are hurdles, they are usually overcome through conversation.
Tackling packaging waste doesn’t just improve their environmental footprint, but also forces restaurants to be more thoughtful and innovative in their overall operations. It’s about rethinking the entire lifecycle of a product — from how it’s grown and packaged, to how it’s delivered and eventually consumed. “It’s not just about what’s on the plate,” says Albert. “It’s about everything that happens before the food even reaches the kitchen.”
The real costs of zero waste
Lara shares that SEM is transparent and open about their costs. “We pay a higher price for our produce because it is sourced from regenerative and organic farms exclusively. Unfortunately, the cost of responsible farming practices is distorted because the hidden costs are actually in subsidised, chemical heavy, industrial food. These costs are offloaded onto us in the forms of taxes, while responsible farming actually represents the true cost of farming. We also have high staff costs as we pay our staff above average and offer them a holistic benefits package. These are not associated with running a zero-waste operation but with decisions made in line with our values.”
Similarly, Albert explains that running a zero-waste restaurant doesn’t necessarily mean higher raw material costs. “What drives up costs is labour. “It’s more labour-intensive because everything requires more thought — how do we solve issues that have never been solved before?” he adds.
But Albert believes the increased costs are justified. “If sustainability means something, it’s also about social sustainability. If your staff are overworked and underpaid, that’s not sustainable.” Both restaurants also go above and beyond to ensure that they don’t just cut costs by sacrificing quality. “I can’t compete with an onion that costs 50 cents and comes from who knows where. But I know where every ingredient I use is from, and that transparency matters.”
A constant need for creativity
Running a zero-waste kitchen demands a constant rethinking of conventional practices. “We all had to relearn how to cook when we opened Nolla,” Albert admits. Techniques they had relied on in fine dining — like sous-vide cooking and syphons — became obsolete in a zero-waste environment. This forced creativity has been both the biggest challenge and the most rewarding aspect of their work.
For SEM, the challenge wasn’t just in re-learning cooking techniques but also in making the most out of locally available ingredients. “By sourcing directly from farmers rather than corporate distributors, we are limited to less availability of deliveries for example, and we have structured our model to accommodate these hurdles,” Santo explains. We source our river fish directly from the fisherman, which means if he has an unexpected situation and cannot deliver the produce, we don’t have alternatives to turn to. The menu adapts. This decision is also aligned with our values — if we are to be working with nature, rather than against it, we need to be able to adapt to what nature can provide.”
A sustainable future?
Despite these challenges, SEM, Silo and Nolla are constantly finding new ways to innovate. These innovations, however, require significant time, effort and a willingness to take risks. And these restaurants have proven that, with perseverance, zero-waste is not only achievable but can be creatively liberating.
As zero-waste dining continues to gain traction, a major question remains: is this model scalable? For restaurants like SEM, Silo and Nolla, the answer is complex. Albert believes that change is possible on a larger scale if the food system evolves. “Zero-waste is the future of dining. But for that to happen, governments, suppliers, restaurants and consumers all need to work together to make it viable,” he shares.
For them, the road to a zero-waste future for the rest of the industry may seem long and challenging, but their commitment to the cause is unwavering. Their journey serves as a reminder that while the concept of zero-waste may seem idealistic, it is rooted in a very real and practical desire to make the world a better place: one meal at a time. Ultimately, zero-waste dining is more than just eliminating plastic and decreasing food waste. It’s about rethinking how we interact with food, with each other, and with the planet. And for these chefs and owners, it’s a challenge worth fighting for.