Think about how many trash we produce every day in our kitchens and then think about how many it produces, in proportion, the kitchen of a restaurant. Preparation waste, wrapping and packaging of food, customer food leftovers. Fortunately, however, just as many of us in recent times have been striving to lead a more sustainable lifestyle, some restaurants are also adopting virtuous practices for waste reduction.

Rhodora, the zero-waste New York wine bar

An example, as the New York Times said, is the wine bar Rhodora from Brooklyn, a New York, which is trying to work with zero waste to reduce the environmental impact of its business and to meet the needs of more ecological customers. A recent report by ReFED, a non-profit organization focused on reducing food waste, found that restaurants in the United States generate around 11.4 million tons of food waste every year: "It makes no sense to take care of someone for a dinner and then pour that evening's waste and CO2 production on that same person," said Henry Rich, owner of the venue.

Green planning

But how does the wine bar manage not to produce waste? The owners took it ten months and 50 thousand dollars to design and implement their green revolution by changing the way of thinking and managing the restaurant. The philosophy revolves around reuse-recycling-composting actions. First they banned disposable plastic and sought out local producers to use it sustainable and compostable packaging, so they bought a cardboard shredder which reduces the boxes of wine into composting material, then they installed a dishwasher that transforms the salt in soap and they use one food wrap in beeswax instead of plastic. All the staff is busy thinking about menus with the products of the local suppliers who embrace their philosophy, for example by making them bike deliveries in reusable plastic containers. The menus are made of paper and when they change or wear out they are transformed into compost. There are no traditional waste bins, but two containers for the collection of difficult to recycle waste, such as rubbers and plastics, which can be used to create new objects. The glass bottles are recovered by a recycling service, i cork stoppers they are donated to those who transform them into shoe soles and blocks to practice yoga.

Sustainable menu

The menu, which is inspired by the Spanish tapas bars, never fails cheeses, chosen with hard paste and that are preserved for a long time, pickled vegetables is canned fish (aluminum is easily recyclable). Food waste also becomes compost to be used as fertilizer in the local mini gardens. A study has estimated that restaurants save an average of $ 7 per dollar invested in food waste reduction practices in the kitchen. The Rhodora system is still not perfect but the owners hope to inspire so many people not to produce waste "because it is so wonderfully simple not to have rubbish to take to landfills".