I decided to show some aspects (good AND bad) of restaurants that have to do with environmental issues. First off, at Perkins, I noticed that ALL of the lights were on, even though it was at the sunniest point of the day and lit up the entire restaurant regardless.
Only a few of us drank all of the water or pop that we ordered. All of this waste also it just poured down the drain without a second thought. 
On the bright side of things, other restaurants do well with composing and recycling. At Grandmas, the restaurant I work at, we started separating our food scraps from everything else. We have biodegradable bags that we fill to the top, and then bring them to compost sites. 
I'm glad that I could find eco-friend aspects of restaurants. I expected to find all bad things, but actually found some good. I'm proud to work at a restaurant that contributes to composting, especially since we go through so much waste/food every single day. It's ridiculous to just mix everything together when it is so simple to separate them. Though it's a little extra step to do so, it is worth it. I hope that all restaurants find new ways to reduce their waste and start finding more appropriate practices to help out.
Those are some really good points you made about how restaurants are being wasteful. When we talk about wanting to improve the way we live it gets very difficult to do that when 'outside' factors, such as the examples of the restaurants, set us up to have a difficult time changing. That's awesome that Grandma's is beginning to separate its waste. Since you work there did the company mention at all why they decided to begin doing this?
ReplyDeleteIt's very cool that Grandma's has started to help with composting. I think that a lot of restaurants are like Perkins and are very wasteful when it comes to food. They make serving sizes so big that it is hard to finish meals. I never really thought of where all that food waste goes! I hope that more restaurants start doing this too!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really cool idea to do! It helps that you work at a restaurant and can get the inside scoop!! I know what you mean about the over serving of water and soda that will just get thrown out. I used to work at Red Robin after high school and we used to have to get the customer a new drink when it was only half empty! Talk about wasting!
ReplyDeleteThese are things I always think about when I go to restaurants as well. I didn't know they composted the food, I was always under the impression they just threw it away. The same goes for drinks, I always think about how much is wasted, but we can't solely blame the restaurant for it, the customers should do their share to know how much they can drink and not pour that next glass if they don't need to.
ReplyDeleteWow! That's something I never knew. Perkins' light on during daylight. I bet there are others that are wasting as much energy too. I think composting is such a great idea that hopefully other restaurants are doing too. All the extra food that people throw away would be a great source to compost and give back to our nature. Where can I get one of those bags?
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