AQW 17463/22-27

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 04/11/2024
Answered On Date: 12/11/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Justice whether her Department is implementing any measures to prevent food waste in buildings used by her Department or its arm's-length bodies.

Answer:

The Department of Justice and its agencies seek to match supply with demand in order to minimise food wastage at source.

For example, within our prison establishments prisoners pre-order their choice of meal from menus supplied to them. These include making food choices available such as healthy eating and also options to suit those who require meals on religious or dietary grounds (including vegetarian, vegan etc.). Individual meals are produced with careful consideration given to portion control and calorific value. In addition, regular Food Forums provide opportunities for prisoners to provide feedback on the menus to ensure they remain appetising and appealing. All this helps to ensure that we minimise any potential wastage of food.

Prisoners and kitchen staff are also encouraged to separate any residual food waste from other recyclable waste streams. The separate food waste is stored at collection centres on each site and transferred to an Anaerobic Digester Plant by a waste collection contractor, which is then used to generate heat and electricity. The NI Prison Service receive a monthly report to identify and monitor the amount of food waste collected.

In terms of the responsibly of disposing of any waste, the Department of Justice and its agencies can make use of the Department of Finance Collaborate Contract for Non-Hazardous Waste Management Services. This service provides for the collection, removal, transportation, disposal and recycling of non-hazardous waste which includes food waste.