Reuse Is The Solution
With an infrastructure built to support REUSE solutions, we can reduce single-use plastic and other waste, help sustain a healthy ecosystem & contribute to a vibrant community
The good news is that there’s a new reuse economy emerging for food service which reduces waste and saves businesses money.
840 billion single-use products could be replaced by new reuse service economy!
SUSTAINABLE DINING, RESPONSIBLY SERVED
Because we all need to eat, this means we all can play a part in the solution – three times a day. By developing sustainable habits at home, at the store, and at our restaurants, we can make a difference. Our hope is that you, Businesses and Diners, would Partner Alongside Us as we work towards a sustainable and more responsible future.
Skip The Stuff!
Stop Waste Before it Starts. Request only the foodware accessories that you need while taking food to go.
Restaurants should provide disposable foodware accessories for take-out or delivery only if the customer requests them.
Foodware accessories are all those disposable take-out containers, bags, boxes, condiment packets, plastic utensils and straws, napkins, cold and hot cups and lids. Nearly one trillion of those disposable products are used each year in the United States, most of which ends up in a landfill, an incinerator, or in our environment.
If you don't need them, there is no need for unnecessary waste. Take what you need, leave the rest. It’s a simple solution that will save restaurants money and reduces waste.
Why policy matters (watch video)
Rethink Disposables
Resources for food service providers wishing to go disposable-free.
Plastic Free Restaurant - This organization’s subsidy program is available to any food service establishment that currently gives single-use petroleum-based plastic to its customers (or students), is willing and ready to switch to reusables, and is not required by (local, county, state) law to discontinue using the single-use plastic.
What’s The Solution? “Reusable Foodware”
Support Restaurants Committed to Sustainable Practices. When dining in a restaurant their service should include reusable plates, cups, utensils and napkins. Leaving nothing to dispose of at the end of your meal.
It’s a simple solution that will save restaurants money and reduces waste.
The environmental, economic, and business case for transitioning from single-use to reusable in food service - Reuse Wins Report
Recommendations for Hosting a Plastic-Free, Low Waste Event Guide
Solutioneers
-
Labor of Love
FARMily empowers children in the Reno-Tahoe area to learn and practice social-emotional skills as they plant, tend to, harvest, and prepare a wide variety of nutrient-rich fruits and veggies in our organic gardens.
Rebekah Stetson, the founder of FARMily, also champions Reuse Solutions!If you live in Washoe County and are planning a large gathering or a public event, consider serving the food and beverages in Reusables. If you’re in need of plates, cutlery and cups, reach out to Rebekah @ 775.342.7675 or rebekah.m.stetson@gmail.com.
-
Plastic Free Restaurants
Solutioneer, John Charles Meyer, shares how a little investment goes a long way toward creating Plastic Free Restaurants in the US. “We eliminate petroleum-based, single-use plastic from restaurants and schools by subsidizing the purchase of reusable replacements.”
source: The Indisposable Podcast, Episode: Making Restaurants more Reusable, July 21, 2022
-
Yelp Helps Eco Friendly Businesses
Join the growing customer base that supports restaurants committed to sustainable practices.
Yelp App reveals how customers support food service businesses that are committed to sustainable practices. source: yelpblog
-
Reno Gleaning Project
A group of working people and corporate teams trying to Improve tree stewardship and reduce fruit waste in the Truckee Meadows through the provision of
-Free picking labor using professional harvest equipment
-Tree care tips and tricks for the best harvest
-Crates and transportation of ripe edible fruit to the organizations that feed the needy in our community
A Circular Economy based on Three Principles
ELIMINATE - CIRCULATE - REGENERATE source: ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
The following information and free guide provided by our friends at Beyond Plastics offers practical advice, tools, resources (including funding sources), and case studies to help any restaurant interested in reducing plastic make meaningful changes and successfully communicate those changes to their customers, potential diners, reporters, and more.
“Restaurants, in particular, have a big role to play in addressing our plastic pollution crisis. We want to help restaurant owners and managers take the first step towards becoming part of the solution,” said Judith Enck, Beyond Plastics President and former United States Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator.
“Absent business changes, it is also important for governments to adopt new policies that reduce the use of plastics and propel a shift to reusable and refillable food packaging. Many of those steps, such as not automatically providing a mountain of condiments and napkins and plastic straws with every take-out order, will also save businesses money,” said Enck.
Already, many eateries are choosing to either become plastic free, reduce their use of plastic, or eliminate single-use disposable items. In doing so, these restaurants have demonstrated that they can decrease costs, grow their clientele, increase revenue, and make a real and vital contribution to the health of the environment.
UNITED STATES to back GLOBAL TREATY aimed at CURBING PLASTIC POLLUTION source: eenews.net
LEARN ABOUT THE U.S. BREAK FREE FROM PLASTIC POLLUTION ACT breakfreefromplastic.org
-
Newsletter: Living Landscape of Reusable Solutions
-
Newsletter: Zero Waste Programs and Solutions in U.S.