Tom Jones is the General Manager for the Kyotaru-Columbia Inn restaurants and an Advisory Board Member for the Partnership for the Environment. His expertise in recycling predates the Partnership. With no fear of dumpster diving, he recognized the value of recycling and integrated it into his restaurants' waste management operations in 1988. He helped found the Partnership for the Environment in 1992 and has been an active member of the Board and a peer consultant ever since. | DUMPSTER DIVING 101:
The value of getting
inside your trash can
By Tom Jones
How well do you know your trash? That’s right, do you really know your trash? Effective recycling programs begin with an intimate knowledge of your waste stream. Most of us don’t want to spend too much time, or any time, near the dumpster, let alone IN THE DUMPSTER! But you cannot really recycle trash until you identify all of the recyclable materials that are in the trash and figure out how to get them out. Dumpster diving is not new. It’s been around for at least three decades. Working as a dishwasher in my teens, I can still remember being ordered into the dumpster by the restaurant manager. The object was to act as a human trash compactor. The problem then was the same one many businesses have now—too much bulky cardboard taking up valuable space meant for real, bonafide trash. With today’s high waste hauling fees, recycling can mean big savings. A typical restaurant’s waste stream contains many potentially valuable commodities: cardboard, glass, office paper, and food waste to name a few. Over 50% by volume of a restaurant’s waste stream may be recyclable materials. Most of the recyclables can be hauled away separately at substantially lower rates than regular trash. That’s where the savings come in. Reducing the volume by 50% means you can reduce your general waste hauling bill by 50%! Combined savings at our company’s restaurants is over $15,000 annually. So an occasional dive into the dumpster can really be worth the time and effort. Our restaurants started recycling in 1988. A careful study of our expense records revealed that we were spending quite a bit on waste removal. I reviewed our waste hauling invoices and analyzed the contents or our dumpster (that essential first step), and found that over half of the volume of our trash was cardboard. The old light bulb lit up. After rebidding our waste hauling contract and retraining the staff, we were saving a couple hundred dollars per month. An added benefit to an effective restaurant recycling program is the improvement to the trash area. By separating the recyclables and trash, the waste collection area becomes organized and much less offensive. Reduced odor and improved appearance can be a big benefit to the guest’s perception of your business. The benefits of recycling are many, and I have found that employees are usually very interested and willing to participate. So grab a snorkel and some fins and dive right into recycling. | INTRODUCING
Aloha
Harvest
A new kind of food
recycling service | Aloha Harvest is a non-profit telephone and transportation network that picks up donated food and delivers it free to social service agencies serving people in need. Aloha Harvest specializes in the proper handling of perishable food, hot or cold, and also accepts donations of food with damaged packaging and sell-by dates that are near their limit and can no longer be sold. Aloha Harvest can schedule pickups on days and at times that coordinate with your business operations and events. Pickups can be arranged in advance for possible food overages from your company’s events; food overage guarantees are not required. This innovative concept was first tested with City Harvest in New York City, which now provides enough food for over 26,000 meals a day at a total operating cost of 39 cents per meal. The proven Harvest model has been replicated in 121 cities in the United States and another 80 worldwide, collectively providing 432,117 meals a day. Aloha Harvest, just starting here on Oahu, is the newest program. Utilizing Aloha Harvest allows your company to increase its recycling effort and benefit from a tax-deductible donation. Aloha Harvest insurances and assurances protect you, the food donor, from any liability. You just need to make one phone call...(808) 537-6945. |
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