Encouraged by a 6-month pilot, Melco will deploy the AI at its other properties.

Melco Resorts (NASDAQ: MLCO), the global casino and resort operator famous for its City of Dreams and Morpheus resorts in Macau, plans to use AI systems from Winnow Vision to reduce food waste and improve environmental sustainability. (Intrado GlobeNewswire)

A pilot test with Winnow

Melco and Winnow Vision conducted a six-month trial at City of Dreams, the flagship Melco resort. The mission was to combat food waste using Winnow’s AI technology.

Winnow’s system takes photos of wasted food as it’s thrown away and, using the images, the machine trains itself to recognize what has been thrown in the bin. This means that, over time, food will be thrown in the bin and the data will be captured automatically.

It also calculates the financial and environmental impact of such food waste for commercial kitchens. Chefs can therefore adjust purchases, save costs, and control overproduction.

At City of Dreams, the trial system reduced food waste in the employee dining area by 67%. Typical dishes such as noodles, potatoes, and rice were the most important control points for food waste.

The resort saved approximately 3,915 kg of food waste equivalent to nearly 17 tonnes of CO2e.

The results have spurred Melco to rollout the AI system to all its own-operated buffet restaurants, customer-facing dining areas, and at the City of Dreams Manila property.

“The A.I. system initiative allows us to maximize operational efficiency and data accuracy across both front- and heart-of-house food outlets, with the ability to significantly reduce food waste,” said Denise Chen, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer of Melco Resorts & Entertainment.

Melco will also extend the system to monitor the plate waste of employees.

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Image Credit: Melco Resorts