Compost on the Menu

Think back to the last time you sat down for a meal at your favorite restaurant. Now before you start going on and on about how delicious those artichoke enchiladas were, try to imagine all the odds and ends, the veggie peels and fruit rinds, that were left on the cutting board in order to make your meal and the hundreds of others meals served at that one restaurant on any given night.  

 

The truth is, food scraps and other compostables make up about 50 percent of a restaurant’s waste stream. Ever stopped to think about what happens to all those organic scraps?

 

It’s probably no shock to learn that the vast majority of food establishments in Austin simply mix those odds and ends with the trash they send to the landfill.  

 

I know what you're thinking, it's all a bunch of garbage. But some new legislation in Austin is about to take effect that will turn that reality on its head.

 

As a part of it's plan to reduce the amount of trash sent to landfills by 90% by 2040, the City of Austin has mandated that all restaurants must start composting within the next couple years.

 

Here’s the scoop:

In April of 2013, City Council voted on an update to the Universal Recycling Ordinance and will require all restaurants over 5,000 square feet to start composting by 2016.  All other restaurants will then have to compost in the following years. That means by 2018 every restaurants in Austin will be legally required to send their organic waste to a compost site, instead of the landfill!

While the compost requirement hasn't yet fully kicked in, the Compost Pedallers already work with a number of local restaurants like Blue Dahlia Bistro and Bufalina Pizza that are eager to reduce their waste. Our compost recycling program allows restaurants to reduce their dumpster fees and to show their commitment to sustainability by becoming a part of the local food cycle.

 

You can help make the shift away from senseless waste by supporting restaurants that are already composting and letting the ones that aren’t know it is important to you. Ready to get your business composting? Contact us to set up your free consultation.

 

Composting is coming to Austin restaurants. Are you ready?