A revolutionary eco-friendly solution for biowaste management

A revolutionary eco-friendly solution imported from Korea is arriving on the French market for restaurateurs, hoteliers and public-sector catering managers who have been required to manage their biowaste since 1er January 2024.

Biowaste management, a legal obligation since 1er January 2024
Biowaste, organic waste of plant or animal origin from kitchens and catering, now makes up nearly a third of the contents of the French residual waste bin, i.e. 30 % and 720 000 tonnes of waste each year for out-of-home meal consumption (CHD), according to Ademe.

Under the Anti-Waste Law for a Circular Economy, enacted on 10 February 2020, companies and public bodies whose annual production exceeds 10 tonnes, or 60 litres for oils, are required to sort their biowaste and have it recovered through suitable channels. The threshold was lowered to 5 tonnes on 1er January 2023, until this minimum was removed altogether on 1er January 2024.

Under this AGEC law, restaurants, hotels, nursing homes (EHPAD), hospitals and public-sector catering have been required since 1er Jan. 2024 to reduce, sort and recover their biowaste. Under Article L. 123-1 of the French Construction and Housing Code, which supplements this law, managers of restaurants and public-sector catering must provide bins in their kitchens dedicated to biowaste, separate from other waste.

An ecological innovation arrives in France with ZÉRO Biodéchet, created through a combination of French and Korean expertise
Imported from Korea by Mrs Yejin Mulot and her husband, director of GROUPE Mulot, a specialist in oyster-farming equipment, this machine turns biowaste into non-polluting wastewater in just 24 hours and is now available in France.

Thanks to natural microbiota, this technology completely breaks down food waste such as returned dishes, leftovers, peelings, fish or bread.

Marketed by the company ZÉRO Biodéchet, this innovation offers many advantages over the solutions available to date, such as dehydrating grinders or composters, which consume far more energy and cause many inconveniences in terms of odours and heat:

- It reduces waste to 95% of its initial volume

- Designed to be energy-efficient, it operates optimally without affecting electricity costs.

- Perfectly suited to professional kitchens, it fits easily into existing spaces

- Odour-free and pest-free, it eliminates the nuisance of bad smells and pests

- It eliminates the need for waste storage areas, creating a more hygienic and organised workspace

- Eco-responsible, it helps reduce the carbon footprint

A Franco-Korean co-design acclaimed at the latest EQUIPHOTEL show
For twenty years, Yejin Mulot, originally from South Korea, has lived in France, where she has devoted her career to the stainless steel construction industry. In February 2024, during a visit to her father-in-law, she learned that the new French regulations now require mandatory sorting of biowaste. She then thought of her childhood in South Korea, a pioneer in waste management, where sorting has been the norm for more than twenty years. ?I remember the surprise I felt when I arrived in France in 2004: here, everything was thrown away mixed together!? Yejin recalls. With this memory in mind, and inspired by Korean efficiency, she embarked on in-depth research into the most advanced and proven technologies, and discovered in Korea machines using microbiota to turn food waste into non-polluting water in just 24 hours, with remarkable efficiency.?

Determined to offer a solution suited to the French market, Yejin selected the best Korean technology and optimised it through a partnership with a French laboratory specialising in microbiota, with the support of her husband, director of an oyster-farming equipment company. Together they adapted the machine to the French market and began marketing it. This unique synergy gave rise to ZÉRO Biodéchet, a solution able to meet the growing need for biowaste management in restaurants, hotels, public-sector catering, nursing homes, hospitals, etc., wherever food waste is produced.

Last November, Mrs Mulot presented ZÉRO Biodéchet at EQUIPHOTEL 2024 and it was a real success. The innovation created a sensation and attracted the interest of many figures, including Mr Guillaume Gomez, former head chef of the Élysée Palace and ambassador of French gastronomy. ?Seeing the enthusiasm of professionals who are aware of the challenges ahead, and offering them sustainable, high-performance solutions, was a highlight,? says Yejin.

ZÉRO Biodéchet is now marketed in France by an in-house sales team and a network of kitchen-equipment distributors.