If you’ve ever felt a pang of guilt about how much garbage is created when ordering takeout, you’ve got good reason.  All those disposable containers and plastic bags made from petroleum create an environmental impact that goes on long after you’ve enjoyed the last of your Pad Thai leftovers. According to one report cited on Treehugger, over 1 million plastic bags are consumed in this country every minute. How many of those bags wind up in landfills after one use or, worse, end up wreaking havoc on marine life in the world’s oceans, is difficult to calculate. But it’s a trend that has been on a troubling upswing for a long time.  

To address this problem, an increasing number of restaurants and other food service providers have started to switch from petroleum-based plastic take-out items to compostable products made from renewable resources, such as corn (PLA) and sugar cane fiber (bagasse).  One of the major barriers that restaurants face when switching to such bio-based containers, however, is a painful difference in cost.

For example, restaurateur Dan Rosenthal who runs casual-Italian minichain Sopraffina Marketcaffe in Chicago found that he would pay a heavy price to replace the 400,000 non-biodegradable plastic bags he went through each year. The switch would entail 7 cents more per bag, for a total of $28,000 every year.

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Believe it or not, there was a time when restaurants did not exist in the form we know them today. At their advent, restaurants were not establishments often frequented by locals. What we know as the modern-day restaurant sprung from early inns and taverns, catering to weary travelers looking for a quick bite to eat on their journey. In fact, the typical restaurant format- where customers request specific food, made to order off a menu- did not appear in the West until the 18th century.

Today there are over 935,000 restaurants in the United States, which should hit $537 billion in sales for the 2007 fiscal year.(National Restaurant Association 2007 Restaurant Industry Forecast.) If all goes as planned, the restaurant industry could account for up to 6% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product this year.

Because of the economic importance of the restaurant industry, coupled with its significant social value, it has become important for both consumers and restaurant owners to take note of the impact the industry has on the environment.

Coming from a family of restaurant owners, I have the opportunity to act as a catalyst for more sustainable practices within our business. In order to better understand how to make my restaurant more sustainable, I have identified some areas that beg for an eco-upgrade.

One of the areas with greatest need for an eco-upgrade is energy use. Although the restaurant industry comprises around 6% of the national GDP, it accounts for nearly 33% of all U.S. retail electricity use, making it the #1 consumer in retail sector. A restaurant can greatly decrease the consumption of energy in two easy steps…

Outfitting a restaurant with new, longer lasting lighting is a quick and simple fix for a major environmental faux pas. According to ECO Elements, “A compact fluorescent light using 16 watts of energy replaces a 60-watt incandescent bulb. The life of this bulb is 10,000 hours or approximately 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb, saving $35 worth of energy over the life of the bulb. This eliminates the emission of 1300 pounds of carbon dioxide and 26 pounds of sulfur dioxide from a coal fired plant-producing electricity”. Because these light bulbs are not necessarily considered a hefty investment, they serve as an extremely accessible way to reduction energy consumption.

Similarly, installing Energy Star appliances can do wonders for energy efficiency. According to Pacific Gas and Electric’s Food Service Technology Center, “80 percent of the $10 billion annual energy bill for the commercial food service sector is expended by inefficient food cooking, holding and storage equipment”. By installing energy saving appliances, such as coolers, holding cabinets and fryers, a restaurant can increase its energy efficiency, while decreasing its costs over time.

The reduction of water use is another way a restaurant can achieve an easy eco-upgrade. The average restaurant uses over 300,000 gallons of water a year. For you visualphiles, that is equivalent to about 9 in-ground, outdoor, home swimming pools

To reduce the amount of water used, a restaurant should install low-flow pre-rinse spray nozzles in both the dish tanks and the glass washers. This not only reduces the amount of water needed in the wash cycle, but eliminates the need for the pre-rinse cycle all together (Helpful Tip: Always run a full load of dishes, as it takes as much heated water to wash a partially full dishwasher as it does a fully loaded one).

The last way a restaurant can take a small step toward in a big direction is to eliminate the use of polystyrene. According to The Green Seal Report, each American throws away an average of 100 polystyrene cups each year; the expected lifetime of each cup is over 500 years. Further, EcoElements states that, “one polystyrene cup contains one billion molecules of CFC’s and a single CFC atom may remain in the atmosphere for up to 100 years before it becomes harmless”. Considering that many restaurants are still using polystyrene cups by the case, eliminating them from the inventory can be considered a major accomplishment.

In the end, it is important for the restaurant industry to focus on attainable steps towards the long-term goal of environmental sustainability. Making the transition from old practices to eco-practices can be a daunting challenging that, without proper perspective, can seem too overwhelming to achieve. By enacting these eco-upgrades and other easily accessible improvements, restaurants everywhere can begin down the road to eco-friendly business.