Five Easy Ways for Restaurants to Reduce Landfill Waste

Cintas Corporation recently published an article on how restaurants can reduce their footprint in America’s landfills. A typical restaurant generates more than 100,000 pounds of garbage per location each year – more than any other retail business, according to the Green Restaurant Association.

Cintas’ five easy tips to improve source reduction efforts include:

1. Using a chemical top-off service.
2. Implementing a microfiber wipe program.
3. Renting mops
4. Integrating preventative maintenance strategies
5. Using green chemicals.

While much of the focus of “going green” in the restaurant industry is about types of products and systems used, many restaurants can benefit by reducing their inventory and using products that last longer.

For more information on Cintas’ tips to reducing waste, read the complete article.

Does Your Restaurant Compost?

A recent article in the Washing Post discussed restaurants’ latest efforts at becoming increasingly green. Many restaurants nationwide are no longer discarding food scraps into the trash, but instead they are going green by composting. The restaurants dispose of food scraps into separate food waste containers or bins, and then dump the scraps into a compost pile on their property.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, food scraps account for some 13 percent, or 32 million tons, of the total garbage generated nationwide. Of that 32 million tons, less than 3 percent is composted, with the remainder discarded in incinerators and landfills. The food waste that languishes in landfills produces methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

Although beneficial to the environment, composting does bring on its own set of challenges. For starters it may be difficult to find a compost hauler in your area. Not to mention your neighbors may not appreciate the odors produced by your compost, nor the rodents and bugs it may attract.

Plus, there would be the extra costs associated with having someone remove the compost material from your restaurant. However you may be able to offset these additional costs by renegotiating with your existing/traditional waste removal service, as the overall amount of waste they remove should decrease.

When it comes to saving energy in a restaurant, how your restaurant uses and maintains its restaurant equipment and restaurant supplies can be just as important as what type of restaurant equipment you use. Buying and using an energy-efficient oven, for example, is undoubtedly a good starting point and could trim hundreds of dollars from your annual utility bills—but saving the most energy and money will require energy efficient restaurant equipment along with good energy practices.

1. Cut idle time. Do you really need to leave all of your restaurant equipment on, or on standby, all of the time? Leaving appliances on standby costs you money, so implement a startup/ shutdown plan to make sure you’re using only the equipment that you need, when you need it. The savings can be substantial.

2. Cook wisely. Ovens tend to be more efficient than rotisseries; griddles tend to be more efficient than broilers. Review your menu and cooking methods to find ways to rely on your more efficient pieces of restaurant equipment.

3. Maintain and repair. Everyday wear and tear can quickly drive up your energy bills. A leaky gasket, clogged burner or loose oven-door hinge may not waste much energy on their own, but combine all three together and suddenly the waste is significant. Stop waste by staying on top of repairs.

4. Recalibrate to stay efficient. Over time and use the performance of your restaurant equipment will degrade. Thermostats and control systems can fail or fall out of calibration. Take the time to do an occasional thermostat check and recalibrate as necessary to ensure that you’re cooking at the right temperature. Repair or replace broken control panels on ovens, steamers, and other pieces of restaurant equipment that feature control systems.

5. Check pilot lights. Older gas-burning restaurant equipment typically feature pilot lights, which require a constant stream of gas to stay lit. Check pilot flames occasionally to make sure you’re using only as much gas as you need. A quick visual inspection is enough to tell if your pilot lights are over-fired. An over-fired pilot will have a tall yellow flame instead of a blue bullet shaped flame. If you do find that you’re pilot light is over-fired, you’ll want to adjust the pilot light back to a blue bullet shaped flame.

6. Buy energy-efficient restaurant equipment. Inefficient appliances increase your energy expenses in two different ways by having higher operating costs along generating more heat. This additional heat generated by an inefficient appliance forces the air-conditioning system of a restaurant work harder to maintain proper air temperature.

7. Buy with capacity in mind. Evaluate your food production needs and try to buy restaurant equipment that matches your needs on a pounds-per-hour basis. Oversized appliances can quickly cut a restaurant’s profits via higher capital costs as well as increased operating costs. An oversized appliance may be energy efficient but still cost additional money as you are basically paying to heat up the extra production capacity of the unit that you’ll never use.

Want to learn more about how Serv-U can help make your restaurant more energy-efficient? Be sure to visit the Energy Star section of our website or feel free to contact us via phone at 800-797-3788 or click the picture of the customer service representative at the top left corner of each page of the site to launch a live chat.

College classes all across the country have found a new way to help the environment and cut down on their costs: they’re yanking cafeteria trays. In a move that many environmental activists are cheering, many colleges have removed trays from cafeterias to cut down on water usage, food costs, and waste.

Many universities are citing the fact that these trays take a lot of water to wash as a reason for getting rid of them. This article says that school kitchens take up a lot of water to wash dishes, with a large amount of that water going toward washing these large trays. By removing them, they are taking away a large part of the daily dish load.

Another reason schools are citing for getting rid of the trays is cutting back on food waste. Many schools claim that, when given a large tray, many students will continue to wander around the food areas putting food onto their tray until the tray is completely full, even if the student knows they will not eat that much. By getting rid of the trays, the schools say students will have to think about how much they really want to eat, so as to not waste precious carrying space with items they may not want to eat. This will help the school’s budgets by eliminating a lot of uneaten food from being thrown away, meaning the school may not have  to order as much, and they will be able to see what is really popular and order those items instead of things that aren’t really selling. This will also cut down on the amount of food being put into landfills because students will not be able to load up on food they might not really want to eat.

While getting rid of trays is probably not a realistic option for your restaurant, this is a great example of thinking outside the box to cut costs and help the environment. Many people may never have thought to cut trays before the first school did because they may not have seen the potential for change there. By using this great example you can look around your business to see what you can do away with and what you really need.

Your Serv-U representative can help you determine the right amount of items you need for your restaurant to run smoothly and efficiently, so give them a call toady.

Catering to the Democratic Party just got even more political; rumors fly about a no-fried food zone and color-coded requirements.

Actually, they’re more than rumors.  According to an ABCNews.com article, the 2008 Democratic Convention host committee has come up with a catering Request for Proposal that specifies non-fried food, the majority of which should be organic and/or local fruits and veggies.  The RFP also has some interesting requirements that the food be colorful: “include at least three of the following five colors: red, green, yellow, blue/purple, and white.”  The controversy is that some people find the idea of a “lean and green” meal to be unappealing and potential alienating to parts of the country that are known for fried foods (the South).

While the RFP may be a bit on the obsessive side, I’m curious to see what creative dishes these restrictions could inspire.  One local caterer quoted by ABCNews.com notes that filling very specific requests is not unusual for her; it’s part of her job.  Add to that the fact that the convention is being hosted in Denver, and the “lean and green” requirements begin to make a lot of sense.  If the convention were held in a southern state, I think we could all expect fried food to practically be mandated; it’s part of the heritage and culture of the area.

What do you think?  Any ideas for dishes that meet the RFP requirements?

Maybe it’s just the effect of warmer weather as the summer draws near, but all the restaurant industry news lately seems to revolve around beverage trends (and tomatoes…but really—enough about that).

Here’s an overview of the big beverage trends in the news:

--Creative cocktails made with organic spirits and local/fresh ingredients

--Regular drink offerings that focus on “natural” ingredients and real fruit juices

--Bottled water replaced by tap water

 (photo by  (photo by kspoddar of Flickr Commons)
 

Now for the specifics.  We’ve all seen organic foods, and most people are also familiar with organic beers and wines.  But organic liquor?  An AP article on the topic is a good primer.  Tagging a cocktail with the word “organic” makes a lot of people think that it is healthier and more environmentally/socially responsible than a non-organic drink.  In other words, someone using those things as excuses not to indulge in a cocktail may be won over by an organic treat.  Add to that fresh ingredients (like fruits and herbs), especially those that are locally-sourced, and you’ve just added a lot of value and uniqueness to your bar’s offerings.  Example: who could pass up a “Mango-Ginger-Habanero Daiquiri?”  I’ll tell you one thing; Nacional 27’s intriguing cocktail may be enough to prompt a weekend trip to Chicago!  At Nacional 27, many of the herbs used in their drink recipes are grown on the premises.  And as this NRN article says, “…when bartenders cut herbs directly into a drink, it sends an unmistakable message of freshness.”  (Serv-U can help you with just about every aspect of stocking your bar for the summer season.  Call 800-797-3788 to talk to a friendly sales specialist.  Se habla espanol!)

But the “fresh” trend also goes beyond alcohol.  Many people looking for an alternative to an alcoholic drink are no longer satisfied with the usual water and soft drinks.  The word “natural” is popping up on a lot more beverage lists, and according to a QSRMagazine article, about 4 in 10 consumers claim to be more likely to purchase a drink that says “100% fruit juice.” According to the article, “Technomic [foodservice consultants] also found that consumers may be motivated by health considerations to drink more of certain beverages when dining at a foodservice venue.”
 

Which brings us to water, the ultimate “health drink.”  It might seem simple, but water has caused quite a stir lately.  Some restaurants have discontinued bottled water options for myriad reasons.  Many say tap water is just as safe, and a whole lot cheaper than bottled water.  Add to that the waste created by millions of plastic bottles (the majority of which don’t get recycled), and tap water would seem to be the obvious choice, albeit at the expense of some convenience.

Cheers to a thirsty summer!

As you may be aware, “Commercial Dishwashers” is a category of foodservice equipment that can be certified efficient by Energy Star.  The Energy Star seal of approval (the blue star logo) denotes equipment that is significantly more efficient than other similar products.  And that means it may save you money in the long run through energy savings.

When it comes to commercial dishwashers, you can choose Energy Star units of two basic styles: high temperature wash or low temp chemical wash.  The high temperature units generally use more energy than low temp, but they spare you the expense of chemical cleaning agents—which low temperature warewashers require.

For those interested in more information about commercial dishwashers, Fast Casual’s website is featuring a good article on the topic.  You can also find more extensive restaurant equipment information right here in Serv-U’s Restaurant Equipment Information Center.  As the Fast Casual article notes, many prominent manufacturers will be appearing at the NRA Show in May; attending the show means you may get a first glimpse at some cutting edge innovations.  Example: You might get to see a warewasher with a built-in heat recovery system (meaning tons of energy savings), and insulated doors.  (Anyone feeling the pinch of rising energy costs can understand why innovative designs like that are worth talking about!)

If you have questions about commercial dishwashers, please email me or call your Serv-U sales representative for more information.

Even if now isn’t the right time for you to upgrade to Energy Star refrigeration, there are some things you can do to be sure your current refrigeration is running at peak efficiency.  Something as seemingly minor as a slightly tilted cabinet can be a source of lost energy.  That’s because the doors may not close properly and could allow chilled air to escape.  True is one of the top refrigeration manufacturers in the world and the True website has a nice page of owner maintenance videos.  One of their short videos addresses this issue; True suggests checking the level from left to right and front to back, and then adding shims to the casters to achieve the perfect level you need.

Besides keeping your cabinet level, True also suggests cleaning the condenser regularly to keep it running efficiently.  Proper upkeep like this can greatly extend the life of your commercial refrigerator and can help you keep those energy bills more reasonable.

It’s April 22^nd—Earth Day!  In the spirit of the holiday, I’d like to highlight an earth-friendly event that could be of interest to many restaurant and bar operators.  Restaurants & Institutions will be hosting a webcast on May 7^th at 10am (CST) titled “Green for One, Green for All.”

The webcast is set to feature some well-known presenters (including George McKerrow Jr. of Ted’s Montana Grill—a restaurant I’ve mentioned in two previous blog posts).  Besides giving these pros a voice, the webcast will also allow “audience members” to participate by asking questions about environmental responsibility in the foodservice industry.

If you’re interested in “attending,” check out the details at R&I’s website.

And here’s an interesting example of an independent restaurant celebrating Earth Day in a big way—by cutting electricity from their diet for two whole days.  So how are they cooking without electricity?  Outside on a grill, naturally.

That’s a trend I wouldn’t mind a bit…with good weather, who can resist the scent of a backyard grill?  Just bring the grill to the restaurant and that smell wafting through the neighborhood is probably some of the best free advertising a restaurateur could ask for.  And what of dining in the dark?  Well, there's actually a restaurant in San Francisco that serves in total darkness all the time--it's said to heighten one's sense of taste.  Read the entire article here; if nothing else, the nightvision video of people eating (or attempting to eat) in the dark is pretty entertaining.

(If you’ve got an interesting idea for how to celebrate Earth Day, please share it in the “Comments” below!)

Update: In case any of you dear readers were wondering…we’re all ok here in central Illinois.  Yes, we did experience earthquakes today (plural—there were two).  Finally a few nice, warm days here in the heartland, and then the first earthquake in about twenty years.  It’s been a strange week.

Speaking of “Mother Nature,” my blog post today is a quick collection of articles about “green” practices.  They range from stories about “repurposed” restaurant construction materials to green burgers.  This week, my email has been flooded with such stories, and each one offers at least an idea or two that could be implemented in almost any restaurant or bar.  And many of these ideas can save restaurant operators money while also working as a nice marketing tool.  Enjoy!

1. Hotel chefs go local
2. Recycling down to the construction materials
3. Cool Earth Day restaurant marketing campaign
4. London’s most sustainable kitchen
5. Green burgers?