How can our restaurant go green?

Question

I work in a restaurant and we're trying to come up with ways to be a little more environmentally friendly. All I've come up with so far is to recycle paper goods, cans, and jars... Any ideas?

Answer 1

well to enforce ur rules make sure there are consiquences that will follow if they dont comply also you can spend alot of money and heat ur resturant/ aircondition it using solar or wind energy... but itll be expensive as h**l good luck

Answer 2

Buy local food when possible.  Buying local food is more important than buying organic, if protecting the environment is your biggest concern, because a lot of greenhouse gases are generated in transport.

Answer 3

Get them to sell only green beans and green tea.

Answer 4

If you use fry oil, you can take the waste and run any delivery vehicles off of it instead of gas.  Just needs a diesel engine.

Answer 5

yeah, nice idea! cool! well there it is, use solar for power, use local food, provide segregating cans, you can also use vegetable oil for fueling up your delivery motorcycles (if there are), you can use passive cooling(open-air restaurant instead of air0conditioned one), you can do rainwater harvesting in flushing your toilets. you can provide your customers if they want plastic stra and tissue and tell them that your resto is going green. you can even ask them if they carry their own spoon and fork.

Answer 6

To go bags made of paper.

There are cleaning products to wipe your tables that are toxins free and good for the environment.

Coasters save on wasted napkins as well as add a logo for selling your product.

Hand wave dryers in the restroom versus paper towels.

Answer 7

Go organic and local and find a local source who will compost your plant waste. Stop using styrofoam and plastic for take out. You can get forks, spoon, straw and containers in a corn starch product, or use paper.When replacing dishes look for recycled glass products, they are very attractive. If you don't use cloth napkins use recycled paper.

Become more energy effcient, most utilites will help you figure out items to save electriciy, gas and water. Change to LED or CFL lighting.

Detox your cleaning, amonia and chlorine bleach are not good choices. I know with a kitchen you need to use something stronger than vinegar, contact your local health inspector and see if they can recommend something.

Reduce waste, take note of how much is left on a plate, you may want to offer 1/2 portions, or reduce portions on some items. Don't use garnishes that won't get eaten. Instead of parsley, which is rarely eaten, place a tomato or something that is more likely not to need to be tossed out.

Answer 8

You may use: My Best Recycling Idea

Besides recycling the plastic containers, you can improve your work or home environments by bringing live potted plants indoors.

Major items needed:

One empty plastic gallon container.   Tree Top Apple Juice is preferred, or equal in shape.

One empty plastic ½ gallon container.  Langers All Pomergranate Juice is preferred or equal.

Directions:  Lay the plastic gallon container on its side so the front label is facing up.  Place the empty plastic half gallon container on the label and with a sharpie pen outline the bottom on the Tree Top label and with a sharp knife carefully cut the outline.  Insert the half gallon into the hole until it rest on the back label of the gallon container.  Then mark and cut approximately one inch above the cut on the ½ gallon  to complete your planter container.  Remove and drill several ¼ inch holes on the bottom of the ½ gallon cut container for drainage.

Fill the cut ½ gallon planter with one inch of gravel before putting in good potting mix soil and live growing plant.  If you make two or more you can pour the water back and forth and not waste the water with the nutrients.

Go to NASA’s Clean Air Plant Study for the top ten plants that cleans the indoor air better than the rest.

Answer 9

Use Solar lighting and heat from solar panels to cook. A skylight can give you natural lighting. You can avoid your electric and gas bill for the restaurant by going solar and save even more. Cafe Del Sol in my area has a web page on the Internet. They have also gone organic with their food and offer vegetarian food for those who want it.

Answer 10

-You could start a compost bin and put in all your kitchen and plate scraps in that.

-Make flyers (on recycled paper) to have available for your customers and they can include ways to go green. Like use reusable shopping bags.

-Have you take out bins out containers be made from corn or recycled materials.

-And encourage the people who pick up the containers to bring their own bag to bring them home in.

-If you even decide to redecorate your restaurant, by organic materials and eco friendly ones. Or go to a thrift stroe and buy your new things their.

-You might already be, but make sure you are using reusable napkins, like cloth ones.

-Wash all your laundry you have in a cold wash, and use green products such Seventh Generation, Method, or the Clorox brand Greenworks.

-Offer your used oils you use to diesel trucks to use as biodeisel, and make it free. That's a really good one to consider.

-Bring in some live potted plant, and literally green up the place.

-Even plant some trees outside the restaurant

FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES...

-Start a competition, have everyone record everything "green" they do for a week, or a month, and then the person who does the most gets a day off, or gets a bonus, or gets a free dinner at the restaurant or something.

-Have a "green" class, and teach all the employees about going green, and what they can do. Make the whole going green thing a team effort, and try to get everyone rallyed up. You could wach An Inconvient Truth at your first meeting.

Good luck and I hpe you and your restaurant will help the environment as much as your can.