Time to clean up

 

A look at reducing restaurant waste

By Lindsey Sarada

s a person who works in the
restaurant industry, I see
firsthand the amount of waste

that a single restaurant produces in
one day. Not surprisingly, bags and
bags of garbage are thrown into
the dumpster several times daily.

I see cardboard coasters,
paper bills, napkins, plastic
containers, coffee grounds
and large amounts of
organic food waste all in the
garbage. Does of all of that
so called “garbage” need to go to the
landfill?

The answer is no! Most of it
could be recycled or even composted.
Although the restaurant I work at has
a small-scale recycling program, it’s
rarely utilized by my co-workers.
With landfills quickly filling up
and garbage having to be shipped
overseas for disposal, I believe that
restaurants should start to take a more
active role in waste reduction and
recycling programs.

According to Stats Canada,
Canadians produce around 27 million
tonnes of garbage per year, and
around 67 per cent of that garbage
is considered non residential. If

residents are required to place
recyclables into separate bags and
bins, why are restaurants not required
to do the same? As I see it, there are
several reasons why my co-workers
don’t recycle at work. Time is a huge

factor, there are only recycling bins in

the back of the restaurant and when
you’re busy it’s hard to walk all the

way to the back to recycle one piece
of paper. It also comes down to lack
of knowledge; some people just don’t
pay attention or don’t realize that
there are recycling bins for us to use.
And then, some of them frankly just
don’t care.

Restaurants do however, have
more of a challenge when it comes to
recycling properly. On a small scale
at home, we are able to regulate what
goes in the trash. In a restaurant with
upwards of 20 people working, it can
be hard to regulate what everyone is
putting in the garbage. This is why
companies must be more committed
to waste reduction and recycling.

By doing this, they would be able

to identify areas or opportunities

to make changes and increase the
effectiveness of their current or
nonexistent recycling programs.
Companies must also train employees
and make them aware that recycling
is an important and crucial part of
their business. Incentives and awards
would also encourage participation.

“According to Stats Canada, Canadians produce around 27 million tonnes of garbage per year, and
around 67 per cent of that garbage is considered non residential. If residents are required to place
recyclables into separate bags and bins, why are restaurants not required to do the same?”

Composting is another great
way for restaurants to reduce waste,
as so much organic material ends up
in the garbage. Rubber mats in dish
and bus areas can reduce breakage
and reusing items that are still in
acceptable condition (for example,
cardboard coasters) can save money.
Minimizing the use-of plastic garbage
bags by manually compacting
garbage makes for fewer trips to
the dumpster, as well as avoiding
over-packaging and Styrofoam
for to-go orders. The placement of
more recycling bins throughout the
restaurant would promote use, and
encourage employees to pay attention
to what is being put in the trash.

 

 

Everyone must work as a team if they
hope to succeed in reducing waste.

If you think that this sounds like
a lot of work, there is help out there
for those chronic waste offenders.
A network has been created to assist
restaurants in putting “sustainability
on the menu.” It’s called the Green
Table Network. They have been in
business since 2007 and
in one year alone reduced
the solid waste produced in
restaurants by 285 tonnes.
That doesn’t seem like much
when you look at the big
picture but it’s a start. As of today, the
Green Table Network has more than
100 approved members across B.C.
and Alberta. The program has not
only demonstrated its effectiveness
in reducing environmental impacts,
but also in cost savings with an
average of $110,000 dollars saved in
operating costs every year.

When choosing where we
want to eat, we must not only think
about the atmosphere, the food and
the people, but also the waste and
recycling practices that are in place.
As consumers we must take an active
role in reducing restaurant waste.

17