Stop Waste, Stay Green at Restaurants

You may already carry your own reusable shopping bag to refrain from panic at the register as the cashier reaches for a plastic one. And if you have stopped going out to eat for fear of Styrofoam take-home boxes or eating all 5 courses to keep the plastic to-go bags away, fear no more. Green living covers almost every aspect of life, even ridding the need of those pesky containers.

<![CDATA[Dining Out Without Extra Waste

_____________________________________________________________________

Having a hard time staying green at restaurants? You may already carry your own reusable shopping bag to refrain from panic at the register as the cashier reaches for a plastic one. And if you have stopped dining out at restaurants for fear of Styrofoam take-home boxes or eating all 5 courses to keep the plastic to-go bags away, fear no more. Green living covers almost every aspect of life, even ridding the need of those pesky containers.

_____________________________________________________________________

Top Restaurant Tips

• Bring your own. When dining out, consider bringing your own BPA and lead free take-out containers and cutlery made of plant based materials (such as the starch based utensils bellow) or even a container of your own from home. Check your local stores for eco-friendly take-out containers or search online.

• Other options. Before having your food packaged, ask for other containers besides Styrofoam ones. Chances are the restaurant may have biodegradable/compostable containers. If in San Francisco don’t bother asking, Styrofoam was banned almost two years ago.
• Do as you must. In the case that you have to have something put away in a Styrofoam/plastic container; ask that extra napkins/plastic cutlery not be included as this just becomes more waste.

• Drink up. When filling up your drink at the soda fountain avoid using a plastic lid or straw as this also just becomes waste.

_____________________________________________________________________

Common Mistakes

• Lies! If a restaurant claims to have recyclable Styrofoam chances are they don’t; Styrofoam is not commonly recycled because it is very difficult to do so.
• If plastic. If you do end up taking home a plastic container, check if it is recyclable and make sure that it gets recycled once you get home.

____________________________________________________________________

Benefits

…to your health

Using BPA/lead free containers is safe to use as those components have been found to cause harm to normal human function.

…to your wallet

Sometimes bringing your own take-out containers can save you money. Some coffee shops offer discounts for those who bring their own coffee mugs.

…to the Earth

Fewer take-out containers leaving restaurants means fewer garbage in landfills and less harm to the environment, humans and animals.

_____________________________________________________________________

Further Reading

Side Effect of Plastic: Aggressive Kids

Raising Healthy Children

Safe and Healthy Water Bottles and Other Containers

Bottles and Sippy Cups

The “Rubber Ducky” Chemical]]>