SMART LIVING

Restaurants Can Help Trim Your Waste

Fill Your Stomach, Not the Landfill
by Lisa Borden

It takes approximately 20 seconds to put

our food into take out containers. Convenient?
No, actually extremely inconvenient. The
packaging can remain in our landfills forever,
causing continued damage to us and our
world. Americans toss out enough paper
bags and plastic cups, forks and spoons every
year to circle the equator 300 times (www.
cleanair.org). Wouldn’t it be better to fill our
stomachs and not our landfills?

What can you do?

Help yourself by:

ReFusing Unnecessary Stuff

 When taking out, refuse the unnecessary
packaging! Think about the spoons, forks,
straws and napkins that you get served (why
do they give you enough for a family of 20
when eating alone?). Before accepting all
these items, ask yourself, “Do I really need all of
this? Am I going to be eating this right away?”
If so, why take the bag or the napkins?... Just
What can a restaurant do?
Since restaurants add so much to our waste-line (read as waist-line too!),
enjoy your muffin - and be neat so the napkin and we visit them regularly, help your restaurant help you reduce your
isn’t needed! waste. It will be great for everyone else too! Here are 10 easy things for
restaurants to do that will, in the end, be great for our health, our wallet
and our world. All you need to do is ask and suggest. Don’t forget, we are
ReTaking Your Own Reusables the customers…aren’t we always right? Your power lies in your wallet and
 Bring your own reusables (BYOR) and you your voice matters. Spend wisely and speak up!
won’t need to use the can - garbage, that is.
You can bring your own containers, straws,
cutlery, mugs, bottles and even your own bag
» Join the campaign to reduce restaurant waste at
www.takeoutwithout.com.
– there are so many easy to find options that It’s free, helpful and will fill you up with some great ideas and free
you’ll love to use! downloads.

ReConsidering Your Habits

 It’s easy to fall into a routine, so why not
choose to create a new one? Reconsider and
readjust your habits and adopt healthier
eating strategies - it might be challenging at
first - but it will save you time, money, your
health and our world. The bonus? You’ll feel
like an eco-hero and will inspire others around
you to follow suit.
» Use reusables instead of disposables for everything
possible.
That’s your job – yes, people might stare, but remember, you are a
trendsetter and soon it’ll catch on – just like reusable water bottles have
over the past years.
» Encourage them to use compostable, safe options for
their required disposables.
We get that restaurants don’t want to give takeout patrons a cloth napkin,
but no need for them to use virgin paper all bleached and processed! Ick!

tonic | March 2010 | 47

» Reduce the amount of
packaging to what is only
absolutely necessary.
No double bagging please. If you
aren’t going to use them, don’t take
a handful of ketchup packets, soy
sauces, straws or chopsticks! Supply
and demand. If you are taking your
takeout meal home, we’re hoping you
have cutlery there?!
» Suggest they sell smart and
safe solutions (reusables) such
as bottles, containers, straws,
» Encourage the restaurant
to incent their customers to
»
Applaud them! Change
comes from without.
bring/use reusables by offering Tell the restaurant how great they are.
a discount or something for Send customers their way because of
free (they should be able to all the good they are doing. What a
afford it – see previous point). reward!
Who doesn’t love getting supersized?
Wouldn’t you bring your own mug
if you were getting more? Or bring
» Pass this information
and inspiration on to others
your own bag if you were able to get and encourage them to be
something for free because of it? champions.
They will want to inspire others just
» Recycle and compost
on site.
like you’ve inspired them!

bags etc.
Imagine seeing an amazing container
or a glass straw…it might inspire
you. You may buy one or more.
The restaurant will make money
while encouraging new habits and
creating awareness. And, if they offer
an incentive to keep bringing the
container back, you’ll be a more loyal
customer. And, the restaurant will
have less of a need for disposables,
saving them money and saving our
precious resources. Win, win, win!
An easy one. In Toronto, we are already
sorting everything at home into
compost, recycling and garbage…it
should be happening everywhere else
in the city also.
» Suggest donating surplus
food to a community meal
service or directly to those in
need.
Random acts of kindness rock our
world! Consider Second Harvest as a
great local option.
Together we can change the
outrageous amount of unnecessary waste
we create every day as well as drastically
reduce it. Eat up and fill up, but leave our
landfills as empty as possible. Together,
we can make a difference, we always do.
Lisa Borden
~ is an eco-advocate, whose marketing
business, Borden Communications
+ Design is a direct reflection of
her commitment to better, more
responsible living. lisa@bordencom.com

tonic | March 2010 | 49