Recycling in the

Restaurant
Christopher Miller
 Why recycle ?

Recycling demonstrates a restaurant’s commitment to

environmental protection to customers, businesses and
employees.

Waste reduction can reduce purchasing costs in addition

to disposal costs.

Recycling saves raw materials, energy and reduces

environmental pollution.
 Recycling glass saves 25-32% of the energy used to make virgin glass.

 Recycling paper uses 60% less energy than manufacturing paper from
virgin timber and reduces pollutants by 50%.

 Recycling steel and tin cans saves 74% of the energy used to produce
them from raw materials.

 Recycling steel reduces energy consumption by 70%.

 Recycling aluminum uses 95% less energy than producing aluminum

products from raw materials
 Advantages of Recycling
 Recycling is good for business. Customers take notice of and appreciate a
restaurant's efforts to reduce environmental strain, leading to a better public
image. This can increase customer loyalty and spur customer involvement.
 Cheaper trash fees. The fewer times the dumpster needs to be emptied, the
less you will have to pay for trash pickup.
 Cash incentives for participation. Some local governments offer monetary
assistance for recycling. In addition, trash handlers may have service plans
that include recycling and can cost $20 to $50 less per ton than conventional
garbage pickup.
 Reduced purchasing cost. Restaurants with an effective waste management
system will have several in-house reusable items, like cloth cleaning rags and
reusable flatware. This will reduce the amount of new products that need to
be purchased.  
 Avoid extra costs. In several cities, recyclable materials, like cardboard and
newspaper, are banned from landfills. Additional disposal fees are charged to
anyone that wants to put recyclable material in a landfill.
 What can be Recycled

Recycling and going green work well together, with 76%

of the waste coming out of a restaurant being organic,

 Fruits and veggies

 Meats, bones, sea food and poultry
 Bread and grains
 Coffee grounds
 Plant trimmings
 Soiled paper products

Composting has become a popular form of recycling.

With the popularity of alternative fuels and the
search for alternative fuel sources restaurants
have begun to save and store their used
cooking oil and it is being filtered and used
as biodiesel.
 Buying recycled products creates demand for the
recyclables that your business collects.

Collection of recyclables is only

part of the economic process
that makes recycling
successful. The other key
activities are reprocessing the
materials into new products
and selling these products in
the market place.
 Tempo Restaurant

Located in Alexandria, Virginia, Tempo restaurant was

opened in 1990 by a husband and wife chef team. Mrs.
Albert, a native of California, could not stand the thought
of putting all of their recyclables in the trash. When she
found that having the recyclables hauled away was too
expensive, she decided to use a Public
Recycling Center and haul the recyclables herself.
Materials Recycled: Glass, aluminum, metal cans, plastics, newspapers, telephone books.

Cost Savings: Tempo does not pay for the recyclables to be hauled away because it uses the
recycling drop-off center.

Waste Reduction: Reuses tough plastic containers as allowed by the health department.
Use of china and crystal in restaurant.

Buy Recycled: All paper products: toilet paper, hand towels, office paper, stationery, menus

Education: Told employees initially how to recycle. There’s not much employee turnover,
but the old employees explain it to any new employees.

Keys: Recycling glass alone decreases the weight and volume of waste dramatically.
Restaurants also generate a lot of recyclable cardboard.

Challenges: Having a big name hauler for recycling is too expensive for a small restaurant.
Hauling it yourself is especially difficult in the winter.

Recycled: 16,000 lbs/yr

Waste Disposed: 57,000 lbs/yr
Recycling Rate: 22%
The End