Reducing waste at restaurants isn’t simple or easy, but it has the potential to have a huge impact. All of the choices a restaurant makes to reduce their plastic and food waste can add up to a big difference for our planet. According to DineGreen, the average restaurant generates 100,000 pounds of garbage per year, 90% of which could be diverted to the compost or recycling. Plastic waste, such as to-go items, bags, straws, cups, plates, and much more, is often a huge part of a restaurant’s waste. For example, 40 billion disposable plastic cutlery are used each year in the United States, enough to wrap the globe more than 139 times.

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​Prioritizing reusable materials at restaurants is an essential way to reduce plastic waste. For a coffee shop with multitudes of to-go cups or a restaurant with unavoidable to-go items, creating a reusable incentive program [e.g., providing discounts for folks who bring their own mugs, take-out containers, and bags] could decrease plastic usage. Another option is to switch to compostable plastics and implement a composting program. Of course, along with offering compostable plastics, restaurants need to figure out where that material will go. Compostable plastics cannot be recycled and when they’re put in the landfill they emit methane. Instead, compostable plastics must be disposed of at an industrial composting facility. Danny’s Dumpster is a great local composting service option.