Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/314415
22 FEDA News & Views Foster Frable Bring Back the Dishroom By Foster Frable Jr., Clevenger Frable LaVallee fosterf@cfldesign.com A t a recent consultants' seminar (sponsored in part by a dishwasher manufacturer) there was a fair amount of grumbling about diminished sales volume of dishwash- ers. Many of the attendees attributed this problem to the big number of competitors. As I listened, I felt an important point was being missed. Far more dishwasher sales are lost because the use of disposable dishware is on the rise than because of a high number of manufacturers selling dishwashers. I shared this perspective and through conversation, the idea gained considerable support and agreement. As a corollary to this article, FEDA members who sell china/ silver should find a potential rationale to drive more sales, while also doing their part to improve the environment. When I was on the faculty at Penn State's Hotel and Restaurant School in the 1970s, a guest lecturer from the Permanent Ware Institute (now defunct) came twice a year to speak to students in my fourth- year class on equipment and purchasing. The Permanent Ware Institute (PWI) was founded and supported by a coalition of dishwasher, china and soap manufacturers who wanted to provide an option against the onslaught of advertising from emerg- ing manufacturers of disposables—most notably, at the time, expanded foam con- tainers. The PWI and the Food Service Coalition for a Better Environment (another successor group from the 1980s) presented basic financial models showing the economics of buying reusable dishware versus dispos- ables. Unfortunately, their recommendations did not gain sup- port, and the 1990s saw disposables becoming the accepted standard for on-site foodservice establishments in hospitals, colleges, schools, business dining, and correctional facilities. Dishwashers were removed and dish rooms were converted to storage rooms, holding mountains of foam cups, foam plates/ trays, and plastic forks. In the late 1990s, the environmental movement tried to make the public aware of the huge new waste stream coming out of these facilities, but little was done to reduce the use of disposables. The strategy of buying disposables was com- patible with management ideas of outsourcing, making food portable, and increasing take-out options, so the environ- mental impact was marginalized. When financial evaluations were made, management often underestimated the size and cost of space for storing disposables, and the studies rarely factored in the escalation of trash hauling fees. These costs have doubled and tripled over the years as landfills are closing and operating expenses for garbage haulers continue to rise. Today most new on-site foodservice facilities are designed with minimal space allocated for warewashing. This represents a big piece of lost revenue for the equipment business, particularly considering the dishwasher, itself, represents only part of the total potential for equipment sales. The value of support systems like soiled and clean dishtables, tray accumulators, soiled tray transport convey- ors, grinders and pulping systems, booster heat- ers, etc., easily double that of the warewasher. In Europe, this situation is reversed: perma- nent ware is becoming the only acceptable solu- tion in many countries, and equipment and sys- tems have been developed to address cost and operational concerns. It is also important to consider that labor and utility costs are much higher in Europe than in the U.S. Meanwhile, the environmental movement in the U.S. has been actively pushing our industry to reduce its ever-growing stream of waste, particularly as it relates to foam cups and packaging. Some operators have embraced compostables, and they try to separate trash from food waste, bottles, and cans, but it's a difficult challenge. There is no practical way to separate residual food waste from composta- ble plates, cups, and spoons. In addition, most municipal and private trash haulers don't have equipment or processes for handling multiple trash sorts, so compostables go in the same garbage bag on the bottom of the landfill as the food waste. Compostables, recycling, and conservation programs to reduce waste are a temporary solution at best. The cost of sorting, handling, trucking, and disposal of waste continues to soar as fuel costs increase and traffic gets Today most new on-site foodservice facilities are designed with minimal space allocated for warewashing. This represents a big piece of lost revenue for the equipment business.