Eco-Friendly Solutions For Your Commercial Kitchen Drain Problems
What's stopping you from making your commercial kitchen more eco-friendly? Hopefully, it's not because you think your customers don't really care.
Recent reports state that 75% of American consumers are more inclined to buy if they perceive the company is making an effort to be sustainable.
Fortunately, an eco-friendly commercial kitchen doesn't require a complete kitchen overhaul. Many of the changes are simply modifications to your existing best practices or swapping out existing equipment and supplies.
The switch doesn't have to break the bank. Check out these quick tips on transforming your ordinary commercial kitchen into a modern, eco-friendly commercial kitchen:
Conserve Water with Flow Restrictors
Fitting your sinks with flow restrictors or aerators takes only a few minutes, but can have a big impact on your water usage. While the pressure of the water coming out of the sink is virtually unaffected, you can use up to 30% less water in each faucet with a restrictor.
Considering that these flow restrictors often retail for only a few dollars, they can pay for themselves in mere days with the savings you get on your water bill.
Switch to Green Cleaning Supplies
Another simple solution to creating an eco-friendly commercial kitchen is switching to green cleaning supplies. Most cleaning supplies these days have a green alternative. They may be a little more expensive and it might be more difficult to get a good, deep clean without using harsh chemicals.
The upside is that many green chemicals have lighter, almost imperceptible traces. Your clean dishes will feel cleaner (and your regulars will notice).
These green cleaning supplies are also specially formulated to mitigate or entirely eliminate damage to the environment, which is a huge problem with traditional cleaners.
Any business that wants to honestly brand themselves as an eco-friendly commercial kitchen will want to pursue such products.
Buy Local
Buying supplies locally requires a bit of upfront effort, but has lots of long-term payoffs.
Whether you're purchasing meats, cheeses or fresh produce, there's almost always a local option. It's worth your time to look into them.
The most important advantage of this strategy is that it integrates your business into the community. People want their businesses to take an active role, and they'll appreciate and reward the effort.
Besides, nothing gives you "eco-friendly commercial kitchen" credibility quite like your veggies coming from the farmers' market.
Those same markets are an excellent opportunity to generate goodwill in the community - and save a few bucks at the same time.
Befriend a seller over a few weeks and then ask them to cut you a deal on seasonal produce. They'll be motivated because it simplifies things for them, and you'll be glad to save money on those all-important organics.
Upgrade Your Equipment
Upgrading and replacing your commercial kitchen equipment periodically is a fact of life, so if you can find an effective and affordable commercial garbage disposal alternative that's better for the environment, that's really a no-brainer.
Every commercial kitchen operator is tired of calling a plumber to fix their stopped-up commercial kitchen drains. What if you could find a better solution so your drains didn't get stopped-up anymore?
Always explore any new solutions that take a simple approach to solving a nagging problem. Innovation is a must in an eco-friendly commercial kitchen and any business looking to thrive.
Compost and Recycle
Depending on your state, you might already be required to recycle. Even if you're not required to, it's worth taking a look at. It's no more difficult than throwing things away, plus you could be eligible for tax breaks.
Composting takes this a step further with your food waste, but it's similarly easy. Anything that is food waste goes into its own separate container.
Find a local farmer or composting company that will come pick it up from your business. Since they benefit from having compost, the rates are often very cheap and sometimes free.
Take your composting to the next level, and remember to collect your wet waste scraps too. Who needs to deal with garbage disposal repairs when you could just prevent food from getting into the pipes at all?
Switch Out Your Straws
Straws often create more problems than they solve. They don't cost much. In fact, it probably costs more to have someone sweep them up off the floor every couple hours.
One solution is to stop giving straws to everyone. People can ask for straws if they want them, or your wait staff can offer them.
But if they're not included in every place you set, that's overhead costs saved, not to mention one less piece of plastic in the oceans.
Another alternative is looking into straws that are biodegradable.
Biodegradable Take-out Containers
There's less potential for biodegradable containers to cost less than styrofoam and plastic take-out containers, but more and more customers are starting to expect a green alternative since the majority of styrofoam and plastic containers never decompose. We all know it's bad for our environment, but we still use them anyway.
Take-out containers are a very visible part of your business. As such, it's imperative that your take-out containers be biodegradable.
The biodegradable containers are often noticeably different than regular take-out. Your customer won't fail to recognize it for what it is the next time they take it out of the fridge to snack.
Take-out containers are a large part of the volume of waste you produce, so biodegradable versions are integral to an eco-friendly commercial kitchen.
An Eco-Friendly Commercial Kitchen Is Attainable
These suggestions are only the tip of the green iceberg. There are many more ways to make improvements that benefit yourself and the environment. Examine your business and see where you can make adjustments.
If you want to take that first step towards having a greener kitchen, place an order today to see how you can make tangible progress towards being an eco-friendly commercial kitchen.