article originally found here: http://www.wasterecyclingnews.com/article/20130312/NEWS03/130319989?CSReferrer=comments
Fast food chain White Castle has launched a pilot composting program at six of its Ohio restaurants.
Discarded food and paper from the six locations near Columbus, Ohio, have been composted by an Ohio company since December, The Columbus Dispatch reported. The resulting product is used in landscaping on White Castle property and is available for the public to purchase.
If the six-month trial is successful, White Castle will consider rolling out the program to additional restaurants, the article indicates.
“[It] took a little bit of getting used to at first, getting everything in the right bucket, but now it’s really smooth and it’s not much extra work for the staff,” Chris Shaffery, regional director, told the news agency. “We compost hamburger boxes, towels, coffee filters and grounds, all food products, anything you can eat.”
White Castle has previously implemented other “green” measures, such as switching to recycled paper bags.
Now this is great news! It’s insane to think about how much waste from a fast food establishment is actually compostable. While this won’t ever get me to open the doors to this establishment (except maybe doors that contain a dumpster inside to satisfy curiosity, not hunger), it’s certainly a great step in the right direction.
What will it take for McDonalds, Burger King and the like to start composting? Think about it- Other than the plastic straw/lid, plastic cups, plastic bags, utensils and condiment packets, there’s essentially nothing that you can’t send through a commercial composting facility. Sure, you’ll have to pick out plastic film that remains from the paper cups, but that’s within reason as bigger facilities have a conveyor belt/vacuum at the end of the line to remove contaminants.
This is a trend I can get behind…let’s hope the trial works out! One step at a time…