Restaurant Waste Minimization/pollution Prevention

Transcript

Restaurant Waste Minimization/Pollution Prevention Handbook TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction II. Waste Minimization A. Purchasing 1. Food 2. Beverages 3. General Purchases B. Storage 1. Food 2. Other Products C. Food Preparation D. Waste Minimization in Other Areas 1. Front of House 2. Restrooms 3. Office 4. Employee Break Room and Room Service E. Reuse and Recycling Recommendations 1. Food 2. Linens and Clothing 3. Other Recyclables F. Maintenance and Janitorial 1. Kitchen Equipment 2. Cleaning Supplies 3. Grease Traps and Interceptors G. Water Conservation 1. Customer Service 2. Work Areas 3. Restrooms 4. Building Maintenance 5. Landscaping and Building Exterior H. Energy Conservation 1. Hot Water 2. HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) 3. Lighting 4. Kitchen Equipment 5. General III. Pollution Prevention A. Pest Control B. Hazardous Products IV. Step-by-Step to Reducing Waste and Becoming Energy Efficient in Your Restaurant V. Resources VI. Acknowledgments I. Introduction Welcome to a guidebook you can use to increase profits while helping the environment. How? Through an idea called “Waste Minimization.” Using the ideas of waste minimization, you can easily reduce waste and trim your expenses, without sacrificing an ounce of customer satisfaction. Hawaii restaurants like Dennys, the Honolulu Chart House, On the Rise, and Ryan’s Bar & Grill will tell you that Waste minimization is good business. In the restaurant industry, small daily savings often make the difference between long-term profit and loss. If you aren’t paying attention to waste minimization, watch out . . . your competition is! Why Waste minimization? • Wasted resources mean wasted money. Every dollar you trim from utility bills and wasted product goes right to your bottom line. In a restaurant with a 5% profit margin, $1,000 in savings is the same as $20,000 in extra sales. • Using resources wisely helps the environment. • Waste minimization generates employee loyalty. People want to do the right thing. When employees understand that they’re helping the environment, morale goes up. • The ideas in this guidebook are easy. In fact, some don’t require any ongoing effort at all! The ideas in this guidebook aren’t new. They’re proven methods to reduce restaurants’ operating costs and impacts on the environment. Your restaurant already uses some of these ideas. But every business still has room for improvement. A common value held by all successful business owners and managers is a passion to always improve. This guidebook will show you how. Restaurants: Corporate Polluters or Environmental Champions? Most people don’t think of restaurants as polluting the environment. But a closer look might surprise you: Food. Every restaurant wastes some food (both in the kitchen and on plates), but some waste more than others. Reducing food waste has environmental benefits that ripple all the way back to the farm, saving energy, water, and the chemicals used to grow, harvest, process, ship, and serve the food. Paper and Packaging. The same holds true for other materials, such as paper and packaging. Some packaging (such as cardboard boxes) can be recycled. However, using less packaging and paper in the first place has far greater financial and environmental rewards. Electricity and Natural Gas. Most electricity in Hawaii comes from burning oil or garbage. So using energy wisely reduces air pollution, atmospheric warming, and the habitat loss and oil spills caused by fuel extraction. Water. Energy and chemicals are used to treat both fresh water, and wastewater. Perhaps more significantly, much of the water used by restaurants is heated, so using less water saves three times: on the water bill, sewer bill, and energy bill. Pesticides. Hawaii restaurants have to cope with a wide variety of pests. The impacts of many traditional pesticides on human health and the environment are highly controversial. Pesticide use has been linked to a wide variety of ailments in both humans and animals, including birth defects, fertility problems, cancer, and other illnesses. Fortunately, waste minimization is a win-win approach that can help the environment and reduce costs. Restaurants that reduce waste, prevent pollution, and use resources efficiently will thrive in the coming years. As a restaurant owner or manager, you’re in a powerful position to choose your future: either “business as usual," or sustainable, long-term profits and a healthy environment. Waste Minimization Sounds Good. How Do I Start? • Skim through the suggestions on the following pages. Highlight those that you’re interested in. • Look at your restaurant with fresh eyes. Pay particular attention to food and packaging waste, and energy and water use. Don’t treat these as fixed costs that you can’t control. • Ask yourself: “How could this be done better?” • If you need some outside help, check out the list of contacts and resources at the back of this guidebook. Some utilities and counties will conduct a free, confidential resource assessment of your restaurant. Some utilities will even help pay for energy-saving retrofits! • Involve other managers and employees. Make waste minimization an ongoing priority. This guidebook will get you started, but only you can make the changes that will save your restaurant money and help the environment. From the people and environment of Hawaii, good luck and Mahalo! II. WASTE MINIMIZATION A. PURCHASING Careful purchasing policies can help eliminate waste from the start. By purchasing just what is needed, with an eye to expiration dates as well as shelf-life of perishable products, less food waste will result. Using and reusing packing boxes and delivery containers will reduce the amount hauled away by recyclers or trash companies. And overall reduction of purchases will also reduce the costs of production such as fertilizer for growing, energy for transportation, storage and preparation, and disposal. 1. FOOD • Adjust portions if you find they are consistently being returned unfinished. • Buy locally grown food, especially organically grown items. This avoids the pollution associated with transportation and pesticides and provides guests with the freshest foods in season. • Buy shelf-stable food supplies in bulk whenever sales volume and storage space justifies. This minimizes unnecessary packaging and can cost less on a per-unit basis. • Adjust inventory levels of perishables to minimize waste due to spillage or dehydration. If you are constantly throwing out coded dairy products or dried-up lettuce, it might be because you’re stocking too much inventory, it’s not being rotated properly, or is being improperly stored. Check your usage levels to see if you need to adjust either the quantity or frequency of your orders. • Purchase condiments in bulk containers and transfer them to health-department-approved, refillable and reusable serving containers. This minimizes unnecessary packaging and can cost less on a per-use basis. • Consider buying eggs shelled in bulk if your egg use for general cooking or baking is three or more cases per week. Not only will this increase your yield (up to 30% of the egg white stays with the shell when raw eggs are shelled), but it will eliminate broken eggs in the cooler and having to dispose of the shells and boxes. ** Factoid More than 30% of restaurant garbage is made up of food waste. ** Case study At the Walt Disney World Resort, food service purchasers are ordering food in larger bulk quantities. Disney World purchasing agents now order some products in six-gallon containers instead of five-gallon containers, eliminating the use of 4,600 containers per year. According to Lodging magazine, mustard that used to come in 24ounce jars now comes in 48-ounce jars, resulting in 6,000 fewer pounds of packaging cartons needed. And when the Walt Disney World Resort orders tomato paste in 55-gallon drums, the result is that 86,000 fewer cans are used. ** Case Study The Local Scoop restaurant in Cannon Beach, Oregon, serves a bag of potato chips with every sandwich. Historically, the size of the potato chip bag was extremely generous. Table staff noticed that many customers weren’t eating all of the chips in the bag. The restaurant switched to a smaller bag size, saving more than $4,500 a year. The Local Scoop also added ketchup and mustard in “squeeze bottles”, rather than automatically handing out mini-packets to every customer. ** Case study During this pilot project, french fry purchases at Dennys in Kihei dropped by approximately 6 cases per month, an annual savings of over $1000. The reduction in purchases was due to regular monitoring of the garbage bins, proving that french fries were one of the biggest post-consumer food wastes. 2. BEVERAGES • Serve carbonated beverages from a beverage gun or dispenser rather than by the bottle or can. If you have to use bottles, recycle them along with wine and liquor bottles. If use a postmix system, use reusable syrup canisters rather than the bag-in-the-box alternative. This way, the boxes don’t get thrown into the garbage. • Buy bar mixes and juice in concentrate form, then reconstitute and portion them into reusable serving containers rather than using ready-to-use mixes. • Offer draft beer • Purchase milk in large plastic dispenser bags, delivered in reusable crates and used in ‘steel cows’, rather than buying milk by the gallon or in difficult-to-recycle coated paperboard cartons. ** Case study Clyde’s, a restaurant in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia, and the Premier Ventures restaurant goup in Denver both have saved thousands of dollars by switching from selling beer in bottles to selling draft beer. Clyde’s no longer serves any beer in bottles. At Premier Ventures restaurants, bottles used to comprise 60% of beer sales. Now beer sold in bottles accounts for 15% of beer sales. “It can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000 to retrofit the bar with extra lines to accommodate more draft sales,” Phil “Zoom” Roberts, president, told Restaurants and Institutions magazine. “But with the savings on handling and the fact that draft profits are higher, the switch more than pays for itself.” 3. GENERAL PURCHASES • Purchase products that are packaged in ways that can reduce the amount of material being disposed • Work out a program with your supplier to ship products in durable containers, then take them back for reuse. • Polystyrene foam packaging takes up more than four times the amount of storage and disposal volume of its paper equivalent. If a large part of your garbage consists of foam containers, consider switching to paper packaging to reduce the volume of garbage being generated. • Consider using plastic trashcan liners made of recycled HDPE instead of those made of LDPE or LLDPE. They contain less raw materials and work equally well. • Buy recycled products whenever possible, including floor mats, storage bins, benches, etc. and building/remodeling products such as ceiling tiles, carpets, paint, floor tiles, and wallboard. Use recycled paper products as well, e.g. toilet tissue, paper towels, placemats, Kraft bags, menus, table napkins, guest checks. • Purchase cleaning supplies in concentrate, rather than in ready-to-use (RTU) form; then portion them into properly labeled dispensing bottles. Be sure employees follow the correct mixing ratios. When you buy cleaning supplies in RTU form, you’re paying for the water with which the cleaning agent has been mixed. Using concentrates saves you that cost, as well as the space the multiple RTU packaging requires on the shelf and, ultimately, in the garbage. • Laminate menus for lasting durability. ** Factoid Packaging represents roughly 30¢ of every dollar you spend on packaged goods and up to 60% of what you throw away. As the amount of packaging on the products you purchase increases, so does its impact on your finances. Work with your vendors to reduce the amount of packaging coming to the restaurant - because you pay to dispose of it! This means you pay twice: once for the packaging as part of the purchased product, and again when your garbage bill arrives. ** Case Study The 143-room Copley Square Hotel has reduced food service waste by: • Eliminating paper placemats in its Pop’s Place retaurant. • Laminating menus in Pop’s Place’s restaurant, which previously had printed its menus on paper placemats. Switching to reusable menus eliminates the need for more than 44,000 paper placemats each year. • Switching from paper to cloth napkins in the hotel’s Original Sports Saloon, eliminating 60,000 paper napkins annually. ** Case study Walt Disney World Resort reduced the size of paper napkins in dispensers by 25%, decreasing waste by 263,085 pounds annually. Although the new napkins are smaller, folding them differently allowed the resort to use the original dispensers. B. STORAGE By establishing a system of dating and rotating purchases, you will greatly eliminate the volume of waste caused by spoiled or date-expired products. During storage, carefully monitoring procedures - such as keeping leafy green vegetables away from fans - will reduce waste due to wilting, dehydration, and spoilage. There is a best way to store all purchases. Use suppliers’ recommendations and train your staff to follow established policies. 1. FOOD • Date all perishable stocks on the day you receive them, so if they get mixed up you can still recognize the newer product from the old. • Rotate perishable stocks at every delivery to minimize waste due to spoilage. Use the back-to-front system, where new product is placed on the back (or bottom) shelf, while the older product is rotated to the front (or top). • Store raw vegetables in reusable airtight containers to prevent unnecessary dehydration and spoilage. • Store produce - especially leafy vegetables - as far away from the condenser unit as possible to prevent freezing and dehydration. • Never store tomatoes and lettuce in the same container or close to each other. Tomatoes emit a gas that will turn lettuce brown. • Arrange your refrigerated and dry storage areas to facilitate easy product access and rotation. This will help minimize waste due to spills, breakage, and spoilage. • Wrap freezer products tightly and make sure they are used in a timely fashion to minimize waste due to freezer burn. Code-date all product stored in the freezer and rotate properly. • Use covers for food pans (hot and cold) to eliminate plastic wrap or foil • Pre-cool steam-table hot foods (in an ice bath) before placing them in the cooler. Similarly, always place hot foods into clean, shallow containers before storing in the cooler. This helps prevent premature spoilage and keeps your cooler from working overtime to keep things properly refrigerated. 2. OTHER PRODUCTS • Store and/or handle unwrapped paper supplies such as drink cups, napkins and bags, so as to prevent the products from inadvertently falling on the floor. • Provide adequate storage space to prevent tipping, spilling, or leaking of liquid products. C. FOOD PREPARATION Prepared, cooked, served, and uneaten food that ends up in the garbage is a waste of far more than just food. It wastes money in the purchase; time in the preparation and serving; energy in the cooking; and landfill space if it isn’t diverted in a timely manner. By observing the types and quantity of food that is returned uneaten, you will be able to adjust portion sizes and possibly change varieties of food served (e.g. different brands of french fries), or cooking methods. • Look in your garbage containers from time to time. Anything thrown out is a cost to you. Adjust par sheets, production charts, portion sizes, prep work on a regular basis. • When prepping food, trim off only what is not needed. Over-trimming typically occurs in the preparation of bulk meats and whole vegetables. Check the garbage can for telltale signs or ask that all trimmings go into a hold container for review prior to disposal (This is especially important for new employees). If too much trimming is observed or required, retrain your prep staff, change the product’s specification or size to minimize unnecessary waste, or buy it already pre-portioned. Develop and use hourly or daily production charts to minimize over-prepping and unnecessary waste. • Prepare smaller but more frequent amounts of precooked foods (rice, potatoes, vegetables) to reduce the amount later discarded. • Plan menus so that fresh ingredients are interchangeable among recipes. Produce and other “leftover/unserved foods can be used up in different recipes, not wasted if guests order less of a particular dish. • Use vegetable and meat trimmings for soup stock. • Reconstitute stalky vegetables (e.g. celery, lettuce, carrots, broccoli) that have wilted by trimming off the very bottom part of the stalks and immersing them in warm water (100ºF) for 15 to 20 minutes. ** Case Study: Edible garnishes can add color and flavor to many meals. However, there are some times when garnishes just don’t make sense. Denny’s in Kihei and Lahaina has eliminated the use of lettuce-leaf garnishes for its “Skillet Meals” (food served in a skillet-shaped ceramic bowl, which is then placed on top of a plate). Placing the lettuce leaf between the bowl and the plate rendered it difficult to see and often caused it to wilt from the heat. This simple change saved the two restaurants almost $1,100/year in wasted lettuce, plus the time spent washing and prepping it. ** Case study At the Thunderbird Hotel and Convention Center in Bloomington, MN, food preparation was changed to reduce unnecessary waste after food waste generation was monitored. This resulted in a 20% reduction in food waste. The head chef used a computerized system for monitoring food inventory, the amount of food used per meal and the percentage of waste per meal. This helped minimize food waste generated in food preparation, but it did not completely eliminate food waste. When routinely checking the amount and type of food being disposed of in the recycling containers, the head chef saw that useable food was being discarded. As a result, food preparation procedures were changed, resulting in a 20% reduction in the total volume of disposed food. D. WASTE MINIMIZATION IN OTHER AREAS Food - both pre- and post-consumer - isn’t the only thing wasted in restaurants. Watch for unused paper napkins, ketchup packets, unwrapped straws, and condiments that are served automatically and then thrown away without being used. Check garbage bins for cutlery, serving utensils, and other items accidently disposed of. Study the cost and need of all paper products including printed menus, toilet paper, paper towel, wash cloths, and guest checks. Often by switching to larger or smaller sizes, recycled-content, or other options, waste can be reduced and money saved. 1. FRONT OF HOUSE • To reduce food waste, offer guests the option of ordering half-portions. • To reduce the amount of food that must be discarded from salad bars, set up salad bar offerings in smaller containers and replenish them more often. • Give customers a choice: “Onion, pickle, mustard, mayonnaise on that burger?” • Avoid using doilies and frilled toothpicks for beverages or garnishes. • Use straw-style stir sticks for bar beverages instead of the solid style. They cost less per unit and use less plastic. • Serve straws from health department-approved dispensers rather than offering them prewrapped. If this is unacceptable, ask if the customer wants a straw. Don’t remove all or part of the wrapper. Consider purchasing straws with a smaller hole size than the ones you are currently buying. • Use reusable coasters instead of paper napkins when serving beverages. • Distribute condiments, cutlery and accessories from behind the counter instead of offering them self-serve. Train your counter staff to dispense a predetermined quantity of these products for any meal or when requested by guests. • Minimize the use of unnecessary extra packaging (e.g. double wrapping, double bagging, etc.) of take-out foods. Establish packaging standards for every menu item and combination of items, and let your staff know it’s important to follow them. Remember, every bag or piece of wrap they use is money out of your pocket and more garbage in the Dumpster. • For take-out orders, ask customers if they want condiments, napkins, and straws, instead of providing them without asking. • For cafeteria-style restaurants, place napkin dispensers on each table rather than at the counter. One cafeteria saw a 70% reduction in napkin purchases using this method, since customers used just the number they needed, and didn't take extras "just in case". • Use reusable metal or nylon coffee filters. • Eliminate the paper tray-liner used under food. Trays are washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use, so there is no practical need for a liner. ** Factoid According to a study conducted by R.W. Beck and Associates (Denver), fast food restaurant waste is 50.5% paper, 13.6% plastics and 1.1% glass. The percentages in full service restaurant waste: 20.2% paper, 10.8% glass, and 4.6% plastics. ** Case study Kyo-Ya Company, Hotel Division, identified waste reduction opportunities contributing to a $100,000 annual savings in the Sheraton Waikiki, Royal Hawaiian Hotel, and Sheraton Moana Surfrider. Additional benefits: 20% waste reduction, 33% reduction in trash hauling, improved employee morale, and enhanced customer perception of properties. ** Case study Pacific Northwest area Burger Kings have eliminated using more than 6 million tray liners each year. That is a substantial cost savings in printing, purchasing and disposal of an unnecessary product. ** Case Study Starbucks Coffee gives discounts when customers use their own mugs or bring in used coffee bags for fillups. They donate coffee burlap bags to local community events, farmers, or for use as flooding containment and beach cleanup bags. The coffee chain is testing milk carton recycling in 14 Seattle area stores and is currently recycling or reusing wood coffee boxes and pallets. Starbucks is working the BFI in Vancouver, BC, on a pilot program in which they compost coffee grounds and paper cups. ** Case study Dining room staff at the 820-room New York Vista hotel help the kitchen staff plan menus and gauge portion sizes by telling chefs when portions are left uneaten. 2. RESTROOMS • Use roll-type paper towels in your restrooms and at hand sinks instead of pre-cut “multi-fold” towels. • Purchase hand-washing soap in bulk rather than individual single-use dispensers. 3. OFFICE • Reduce menu printing costs wherever possible by reusing menus, eliminating paper inserts, and using boards to post daily specials. • Before printing, confirm whether a paper copy is needed. • Use electronic mail and voice mail instead of paper copies. • Evaluate internal reporting paperwork and eliminate obsolete or unnecessary forms. • Post office-wide announcements on a bulletin board or in a binder instead of giving a copy to each employee. • Store files on reusable computer disks instead of in hard copy form. • Eliminate fax cover sheets. 4. ROOM SERVICE AND EMPLOYEE BREAK ROOM • Have employees use permanent-ware mugs or cups for their drinks. • For employee cafeterias and room service delivery, replace disposable items with washable, reusable plates, trays, and utensils, and reduce unnecessary packaging. • Avoid using cellophane wrap for fruit baskets and gifts delivered to guest rooms. ** Factoid National studies indicate that about one and a half pounds of trash are produced for each restaurant meal served. At fast food restaurants, approximately 200 pounds of waste are generated for every $1,000 in sales. If you can reduce your waste by 10 to 15% a year, you will not be affected by corresponding rises in disposal costs. You may save even more in reduced purchasing costs. E. REUSE AND RECYCLING RECOMMENDATIONS Keeping waste out of the landfill is of upmost importance in Hawaii, both economically and environmentally. By reusing and recycling as much as possible, waste diversion increases and the community benefits. 1. FOOD • Donate any edible unsold food products to a local food distribution center (Maui: The Food Bank, etc.) • Explore options with your organic produce supplier, local hauler, or county solid waste division representative in regard to the availability of composting pre-consumer vegetative food waste. • Set up a collection and hauling service for your waste fats, oils and grease (FOG). In some areas, clean FOG can be used in locally produced biodiesel for use as a fuel in truck and boat engines • Collect unusable food scraps and arrange to have them picked up by local pig farmers for use as animal feed. • Compost kitchen scraps and food waste using either a standard compost bin or vermicomposting (using redworms). For more information contact Maui Recycling Group (Maui: 572-6668; other islands: 1-888-991-4000) ** Case study Over a two-year period, Walt Disney World restaurants donated more than 594,000 pounds of leftover food, or 792,000 meals, to Foodchain member Second Helpings, a program of Second Harvest Food of Central Florida, which distributes the food to needy individuals. 2. LINENS AND CLOTHING • Use reusable table linen and durable dishware. • Use cloth cleaning towels rather than the paper equivalents. Rinse and sanitize towels regularly. • Use cleanable and reusable hats and aprons for kitchen employees instead of disposable paper ones. 3. OTHER RECYCLABLES • Set up a tin, aluminum, cardboard, plastic and glass recycling program with your hauler or private recycling company. • Set up a well-labeled recycling bin in the quick-service area for wait staff to place your customers’ empty beverage containers (if you have to serve beverages in cans and bottles). • Donate empty, clean plastic pails or buckets to schools, nurseries, or list them in HIMEX (Hawaii Materials Exchange – Maui phone or fax: 667-7744; other islands phone or fax: 1-888-991-4000; [email protected]; Web site: www.himex.org) • Donate old uniforms to Goodwill, Salvation Army or other thrift shops. • Rinse clean and recycle pieces of aluminum foil. F. MAINTENANCE AND JANITORIAL Proper maintenance of equipment is essential to its proper functioning. It will run more efficiently, provide longer years of service, and pollute less with regular attention. Read manuals that come with new equipment; follow the recommendations of manufacturers, installers, and service people. Train your staff to use and maintain all equipment. 1. KITCHEN EQUIPMENT • Clean your cooler(s) and freezer(s) regularly to ensure that food has not fallen behind the shelving and spoiled. This should include both reach-ins and walk-ins. • Doors should close tightly on both coolers and freezers. Check the floor around the door to be sure nothing prevents proper fit, such as rubber mats or boxes. Try the “dollar bill” test. Put a dollar bill in the door frame and close the door. If you can easily pull the bill out, the door’s seal is not tight enough, and you are wasting energy. • Develop and implement a regular, routine cleaning and maintenance program for all your equipment. • Keep oven equipment calibrated to prevent overbaked products. • Clean your fryers and filter the oil daily. This extends the life of both the fryer and the oil. Built-up carbon deposits on the bottom of the fryer act as an insulator that forces the fryer to heat longer, thus causing the oil to break down sooner. Use a test kit to determine when to change your fryer oil. • Develop a rotation system if multiple fryers are in use. Designate a single fryer for product that is particularly high in carbon deposits, and change more often. • Place rubber mats around bus and dishwashing stations to further reduce china and glass breakage. This also minimizes injury resulting from slippage. • Use spun glass pads for scrubbing pots and pans instead of steel wool scouring pads. This new type of pad comes either soaped or unsoaped. They last longer than steel pads and do not rust. • Check for discarded permanent-ware (e.g. serving trays, silverware, etc.) before throwing out dining room trash. • Inspect food service equipment for leaks and malfunctions and repair or replace as needed. • Check the syrup-to-water calibration on your beverage dispensers at least twice a week. Adjust as necessary. Clean the heads and dispenser tips on your beverage machines daily. This helps ensure consistent beverage production quality and quantity. 2. CLEANING SUPPLIES • Use and calibrate an automatic dispenser system to assure proper mixing ratios and avoid waste of cleaners. • Use multipurpose cleaners that can be used for all types of surfaces, rather than cleaners that are job-specific (e.g. stainless steel cleaner). Whenever possible, consider using cleaning agents that are either the least toxic or nontoxic in nature. 3. GREASE TRAPS AND INTERCEPTORS Grease is a common problem for restaurants of all types and for the counties in the State of Hawaii. It can severely impact your operations and, in some cases, violate wastewater discharges if not properly planned for and dealt with. Check with your county’s wastewater division to find out about prohibited and/or restricted equipment. For example, in the County of Maui, food waste disposal units are prohibited where grease interceptors or traps are required to be installed. Equipment that may be connected to an interceptor include: three-compartment sinks, scullery sinks, floor drains and floor sinks along the cook line, prewash sinks at dishwash stations, other fixtures that may be determined to contribute grease or oil to the wastewater system. Environmental problems occur when BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand, the amount of oxygen necessary for degredation of a waste by bacteria) levels increase to digest excess waste in effluent water. The resulting lack of oxygen can kill fish and other aquatic life. BOD levels can be reduced by pretreatment at the source, use of grease traps, elimination of garbage disposals, regular pumping and maintenance, and bioremediation. Bioremediation makes use of natural organisms to eliminate waste grease safely and efficiently. Unlike sporeforming bacteria, these “bugs” are introduced into the drain system in their live, vegetative state. They immediately go to work consuming waste grease and easing drain problems. • Hire a contractor who reclaims or processes grease into a reusable product. • Use polymer bins in aluminum housing to store FOG (fats, oil and grease) for pick-up. • Monitor grease interceptors and grease traps yourself to determine when they need pumping. Pumping is required when the total FOG reaches 33-35% of the total trap capacity, or if the wastewater samples do not meet health department criteria (currently 100ppm in the City and County of Honolulu). The temperature and pH need checking every two weeks; pH must be between 5 and 9. Grease trap consistency must be monitored with the use of a ‘sludge judge’ to get a core sample. • Reduce the amount of grease washing down the drain by scraping off trays and pans into waste grease cans. • Do not connect dishwashers to interceptors. The high temperatures will melt the grease and wash it into the sewer system. The maximum water temperature to be used in an interceptor is 130ºF. • Scrape grills and cooking surfaces into a waste grease container. • Place baskets in drains to catch solids which can then be placed in the trash bin. • If you use a grease trap or interceptor, do not plumb garbage disposals to the trap. Look at the solids entering garbage grinders to evaluate the best method of disposal. Much of this material could be placed in trash bins and disposed of in landfills. In some areas, such as Maui County, food waste disposal (garbage grinder) units are prohibited where grease interceptors or traps are required to be installed. • Minimize spills of oil and grease on floors which when wet-mopped, end up in the drain. • Do not add emulsifiers to the grease interceptor. • Monthly servicing of interceptors and grease traps is the minimum recommended. A maintenance log is required, recording date serviced, pH, temperature, amount removed from trap, if any. • Pretreatment of wastewater can greatly reduce the costly and hazardous flow of waste grease into drainlines, sewer lines, drainfields, and wastewater reclamation plants. ** Factoid While grease and oil from fryers, etc., is collected and recycled, large quantities of grease are washed down the drains - from washing greasy cookware to hosing down the floors. The average full-service restaurant will wash 9 to 20 pounds of grease down the drain for every 150 meals served. ** Factoid In Maui County, the total footage of sewer lines cleaned weekly due to grease is 3,035 = 145,680 feet annually. The total footage of lines cleaned periodically (once per month) due to grease = 174,612 feet annually. The annual cost of a crew to perform this function is approximately $144,131. In addition, the annual cost to remove grease from the wetwells (pump stations), is approximately $77,000. ** Case study Three large hotels in the Wailea Resort - the Aston Wailea, the Four Seasons, and the Grand Wailea cooperated in a test study to determine the best treatment method to reduce the solid layer of grease that had collected in the resort’s central grease trap. Using bioremediation (introducing live bacteria), the layer of cold grease was reduced from a depth of 5 feet to one foot over a period of a few weeks. This allowed increased wastewater flow into the trap, reduced odors, and decreased the necessity of additional pumping. ** Case study The grease trap at the Honolulu Chart House is in the basement of a high rise. This site has caused difficulties especially when the building has a problem in their main lateral lines. When this happens, the Chart House grease trap will overflow, being the lowest point in the building. Five years ago, overflow was a common occurrence due to grease buildup in the line. Using bioremediation over a period of 18 months, the buildup was reduced substantially. They rarely have a line problem now. ** Case study At the On the Rise restaurant on Oahu, the grease trap located in the basement garage of a high rise seemed to overflow almost hourly. Rancid odors were extremely pungent. A video camera inserted into the line detected a heavy buildup of grease down line. Bioremediation was used to alleviate that problem and eliminate the odor. A second problem was the small flow capacity of the grease trap due to a 10-foot drop from the kitchen and overuse of foamy soap for dishwashing. ** Case study Bioremediation also improved conditions at Ryan’s Bar & Grill on Oahu. A constant drainline backup and grease trap overflow caused repeated leakage into the facility below the restaurant. Management has now started using bioremediation at their other restaurant, Kincaid’s, as well. G. WATER CONSERVATION You pay three times for water: to buy it, to heat it (sometimes), and to send it down the drain. Using less water can save in all three of these areas. 1. CUSTOMER SERVICE • Provide table signs encouraging water conservation. • Serve water only when requested by the customer • Install signs encouraging water conservation in employee and customer restrooms. ** Factoid According to GA Maxwell’s, City of Marysville, Washington: 70 million meals are served each day in US restaurants. If one-quarter of the customers declined water service, 26 million gallons of fresh water would be saved every day. 2. WORK AREAS • Increase employee awareness of your water conservation goals. • Read water meter weekly to monitor success of water conservation efforts • Assign an employee to monitor water use and waste. • Look for running faucets (utensil wash, etc.) • Fix leaks and drips! You'll be surprised how much you'll save. • Check garbage disposal water use; make sure water turns off when disposal is not in use. • Install aerators on hand-washing (but not production) sinks • Dishwasher: run only when full; make sure water turns off when not in use. Take steps to ensure that the flow of water through the dishwasher stops when the flow of items being washed stops. Although the flow of water in many dishwashers shuts off when the conveyor stops, many times the conveyor continues to move when no dishes are present, and water flows needlessly. Equip conveyor-type machines with an “electric-eye” to detect the presence of dishes moving along the conveyor, and control the flow of water accordingly. • Check your dishwasher to be sure that it is not using an excessive amount of water. Experiment with a modest reduction (about 10%) in the flow rate of water to your dishwasher to see if any problems result. If no problems occur, continue to operate at the reduced flow rate. • Replace worn spray heads in dishwasher. • Use water from steam tables to wash down cooking areas. • Don’t use running water to melt ice or frozen foods. • Use water-conserving ice makers. Water-cooled ice makers can be retrofitted to be cooled by the facility’s chilled water system, if available, or by air-cooled condensers. • Ice flake machines generally use much less bleed-off water than ice cube machines and should be used wherever possible instead of cube makers. This will eliminate the flow of reject water used by cube machines to maintain cube clarity. Flake ice is chopped in irregular shapes, and clarity is not a consideration. • Soft-serve ice cream and frozen yogurt machines are available with two different types of condensers: watercooler, and air-cooled. Most water-cooled units use a single pass of cooling water. One option, as with ice makers, is to replace the unit with an air-cooled unit that does not require any water for condenser cooling. Alternatively, the unit could be retrofitted to be cooled by the facility’s chilled water system, or by remote air-cooled condensers. • Rinse utensils and dishes in ponded water. • Turn off the continuous flow used to clean the drain trays of the coffee/milk/soda beverage island; clean the trays only as needed. • Wash vegetables in ponded water; do not let water run in preparation sink. ** Case Study Turn a Knob, Save $4,000! At the Denny’s in Lahaina, Maui, staff turned down the flow of hot water into the utensil wash well where butter knives and ice cream scoops are kept. Because the utensil wash runs 24 hours/day, and the previous flow rate was very high, the savings were huge: more than $2,500 in reduced natural gas bills (to heat the water) and more than $1,500 in water and sewer charges. This also saved 300,000 gallons/year of water and more than 2,000 therms of natural gas. 3. RESTROOMS • Tank toilets: As part of routine deep cleaning, test for leaks by placing a small amount of food coloring in the tank. If the color appears in the toilet bowl after a few minutes, a leak is indicated. • Reduce water use by using a tank displacement device (bottles, bags, dams). • “Flushometer” valves are found on urinals and any toilets without tanks. Sloan, Sloan Royal, Zurn, and other manufacturers offer water conserving retrofit kits that reduce the amount of water used per flush by approximately one half gallon. The retrofit kits are proven to be cost- effective and have been thoroughly tested for their effectiveness. Ask your plumbing contractor for details. • Flushometer valves can occasionally stick open, causing a steady use of water. In worst cases, the urinal or toilet can appear to be constantly flushing. Unattended, this can easily add $200 or more to your water and sewer bill every week. Call a plumber immediately! Better yet, have them teach you and your managers how to shut off the water to a flushometer valve. The only equipment required is a screwdriver and in some cases a special wrench that costs about $20 (called a “spud wrench” in some parts of the country). That way, you can quickly stop the waste of water and post the toilet as “out of order”, without having to wait for a plumber to arrive. ** Case Study The Coffee Resort in Milwaukie, Oregon, is a small coffee show with huge savings. The coffee shop signed up for a free “waste minimization assessment” provided by the city government. City staff quickly discovered a major toilet leak. The restaurant paid a plumber $150 to fix it – and saw its water and sewer bills drop $1,764 per year! 4. BUILDING MAINTENANCE • Check water supply system for leaks and turn off any unnecessary flows. • As appliances or fixtures wear out, replace them with water-saving models. • Switch from wet or steam carpet methods to dry power methods. • Change window cleaning schedule from periodic to an on-call/as-needed basis. 5. LANDSCAPING AND BUILDING EXTERIOR • Try xeriscaping. Convert from high-water using lawns, trees and shrubs to landscape designs of plants providing color but requiring less water. • Inventory outdoor water use for landscaped areas. • Water landscape only when needed. • Don’t hose down sidewalks, driveways and parking lots. • Avoid plant fertilizing and pruning which could stimulate excessive growth. • Remove weeds and unhealthy plants so remaining plants can benefit from the water saved. • In many cases, older, established plants require only infrequent irrigation. • Look for indications of water need such as wilt, change of color, or dry soils. • Install soil moisture overrides or timers on sprinkler systems. • Time watering to occur in the early morning or evening when evaporation is lowest. • Irrigation equipment should apply water uniformly. • Investigate the advantages of installing drip irrigation systems. • Mulch around plants to reduce evaporation and discourage weeds. • Remove thatch and aerate turf to encourage the movement of water to the root zone. • Avoid runoff and make sure sprinklers cover just the lawn or garden, not sidewalks, driveways or gutters. • Do not water on windy days. H. ENERGY CONSERVATION The cost of energy - cooking, heating, air conditioning, lighting, and water heating - is a significant expense in restaurant operations in Hawaii. There are many areas you can reduce energy use and therby reduce overhead and the pollution associated with burning fossil fuels. 1. HOT WATER • Turn down water temperature on sprayer in dishwasher area (if it has a separate temperature control) • Reduce hot water temperature to 120ºF for handwashing and other non-dishwasher applications. • Keep hot water pipes insulated. • See the “Water Conservation” recommendations above for more ways to cut your water heating bill. 2. HVAC (HEATING, VENTILATION, AND AIR CONDITIONING) • Unless your restaurant is open 24-hours a day, install 7-day 24-hour thermostats that reduce air conditioning (and heating) when the building is unoccupied. Set unoccupied air conditioning and heating to 80-85 and 55-60. Make sure that the times are set properly. • Ask your air conditioning contractor about installing “airside economizers”. During cooler hours (morning and evening), a temperature sensor turns off the mechanical air conditioning and cools the building using fresh outside air. This not only saves energy, it can improve indoor air quality, too! • Regular maintenance will improve energy efficiency and extend the life of the HVAC equipment. Monthly maintenance: filters, fan belts, fan blades, evaporator and condenser coils. Quarterly maintenance: fan motor, equipment housing, motorized dampers. • Turn off all lights that are not being used. Lights produce heat and make the cooling system work harder • During hot weather, close draperies during the day, opening them at night. • Eliminate (or turn down) the heating and cooling system at night, over weekends, and on holidays when the restaurant is unoccupied. • Do not turn on your heating and cooling system too soon before your establishment opens for business. • Avoid cooling or heating non-occupied spaces or rooms. • Keep storage areas closed off from the occupied areas. • Make sure that all windows and doors are closed when the cooling system is in use. • Consider installing ceiling fans to move the warm air near the ceiling toward the floor. Ceiling fans are appropriate for 12-foot or higher ceilings. • Reduce energy costs for cooling by using one of the methods below to prevent or reduce the amount of the sun’s heat entering the building: • Use overhangs or awnings to block the sun’s rays. • Use moveable shutters to keep out the sun. • Use various types of screens to block the sun while still allowing some light to pass through and without blocking the view. ** Factoid Of all the energy consumed in the US, approximately 18% is used for heating and cooling of industrial and commercial buildings. Over a year’s time, if you can consistently shave just fractions of an hour from overall operating times, you can realize significant savings. 3. LIGHTING • Turn and keep lights off, especially in areas that are infrequently used (offices, walk-ins, prep and storage rooms). Install motion sensors if necessary; they can be highly cost-effective in larger areas. • Use light switch stickers to remind staff to turn lights off when leaving a room. Frequent switching of fluorescent lights on and off will shorten their life slightly, but saves more in reduced energy bills. • Talk with a lighting shop or contractor or your energy utility about lighting retrofits. Regular “T12” fluorescent tubes can be replaced with high-efficiency “T8” tubes with electronic ballasts, saving energy and improving light quality. Compact fluorescents can replace standard incandescent bulbs (a special adapter is required for lights on dimmers), and LED retrofit kits can reduce energy used in exit signs by 95%, while eliminating the need for frequent bulb changes. All of these technologies cost more up-front, but can be very cost-effective over several years. • As part of deep cleaning, remove dust and dirt from fixtures, bulbs, ceilings, walls, and windows. Dirt can reduce lighting efficiency by as much as 50%. • Install additional switches in areas that don’t always require full lighting, so that only lights that are needed are turned on. • Use natural light when possible, unless the sun shines directly on temperature controls. • Make sure that outside lights are on a timer or light meter. ** Factoid Compact fluorescent bulbs consume 75 to 85 percent less electricity than do incandescent bulbs and last up to 13 times longer. An 18-watt compact fluorescent provides the same amount of light as a 75-watt incandescent for about 75% less electricity. Compact fluorescents cost more up-front but save much more in the long term in reduced electricity and bulb replacement. ** Factoid Incandescent lighting converts about 90% of the energy used into heat. If installed indoors, this represents additional heat that must be removed by the air conditioning system. ** Case Study The Coffee Resort in Milwaukie, Oregon, saved $225/year in electricity and bulb costs by simply reducing the number of flood lights outside. ** Case Study When La Pasta Delicioza, in Corvallis, Oregon, opened, all of the lights over the wait staff’s counter area was on a single switch. The owner paid an electrician $160 to put half of the lights on a second switch. During the day, the restaurant uses natural light to help light the counter area, and keeps half of the lights off – saving $239/year in electricity and bulb costs. 4. KITCHEN EQUIPMENT • Group hot appliances together. Place grills, ovens and warmers as close together as possible and as far away as practical from refrigerators and freezers. • Preheat only equipment that will be used. In many operations, because of the small amount of foods cooked, more energy is used preheating various equipment than is used to cook the food products. Don’t pre-heat equipment before you need to. Post start times for ovens, fryers, etc. Turn off some as business slows down during the day (this may also increase employee comfort). The time required to preheat most electric cooking equipment to operating temperature is relatively short. It take only 5 to 6 minutes to preheat an electric fryer, 7 to 12 minutes to preheat griddles, and 20 to 30 minutes to preheat the most popular sizes of deck ovens. • Use the correct size of equipment for cooking operation. • Use equipment properly. To assure efficient heat transfer from hot plates, ranges and the hearths of deck ovens, use only heavy, flat-bottom pots and pans. Proper loading and unloading of foods is important. A common mistake is overloading the fryer basket so that part of the food is not submerged, usually resulting in food waste. This costs you money and fills up your garbage can faster. • Load and unload ovens quickly, and don’t peek in the oven during operation. Every second the oven door is open, the temperature drops about 10 degrees. It takes a lot of energy to bring the temperature back to where you need it. Food cooks faster and loses less moisture if the oven door is kept closed. • Remove any water or ice from foods before frying to eliminate oil breakdown and temperature fluctuation. • Keep oven equipment and temperatures calibrated to save energy and prevent over-baked products • Routine maintenance is essential for all equipment. Keep equipment clean and schedule cleaning to prevent wasting energy and shortening the life of the equipment. Clean spills and splatters when they occur. For example, large spillage on the hearth of a deck oven acts as insulation and causes uneven transfer of heat to the bottom of a bake pan. To keep equipment from malfunctioning, thermostat bulbs and capillary tubes should be properly fastened in place. These controls should be available for easy visible inspection in ovens, fryer and broilers. A loose thermostat on a range or griddle causes erratic heating. Replace burned-out indicator lamps, so the cook can tell if equipment is on and when it has reached the desired operating temperature. • In freezers and coolers, keep evaporator coils free of excessive frost, and keep condenser coils free of dust, lint or obstructions. 5. GENERAL • Take advantage of your electric company’s offer of a free ‘energy audit’. • Schedule routine cleaning and maintenance of refrigeration and HVAC systems. • Vacuum refrigerator coils as part of deep cleaning and keep filters and extractors clean. • Ventilating systems: use only the number of exhaust fans required to remove cooking vapors and smoke and to cool kitchen operations. • Keep two-speed fans operating at the lowest speed required to capture cooking vapors and smoke and to cool the kitchen. • Turn off fans when they are not needed. ** Factoid Typically, 4% of gross restaurant expenses is directly related to energy costs. III. POLLUTION PREVENTION Opportunities for pollution prevention occur in every area of restaurant operations, from the parking lot outside the building, to the method of carpet and window washing, to the exhaust system for cooking fumes. Harmful chemicals used in cleaning and pest control can be eliminated in favor of natural or organic products. Too often, an instant ‘fix’ to a problem is chosen instead of an integrated management plan. A blast of bug killer will eliminate ants today; tomorrow you’re left with the toxic residue. Harsh chemicals may be used to clean up and disinfect areas in the kitchen tonight; tomorrow morning the fumes may keep your chef home from work. Advance planning and informed policies can often reduce the need for synthetic chemicals in the first place, by emphasizing good sanitation and maintenance practices on a day-by-day basis. A. PEST CONTROL Insects and rodents are a fact of life in Hawaii. The control of these pests can affect not just the popularity of your restaurant and loyalty of your customers, but their health and well-being as well. The use of synthetic chemicals has long been standard procedure in controlling pests, where an instant eradication is preferred. However, long-term use of these chemicals results in residue on food preparation and eating surfaces, overspray on utensils and clothing, and airborne toxins that are inhaled by workers and customers. The Integrated Pest Management system, developed by the Bio-Integral Resource Center, is a decisionmaking process which considers the whole ecosystem to determine the best methods for controlling pests in all settings. The objective of an IPM program is to suppress the pest population below the level that causes economic, aesthetic, or medical injury. Strategies are designed to require a minimum reliance on pesticides. The IPM approach has gained favor with businesses because it is cost-effective. • Request a sanitation evaluation from an environmental pest control company. They will make recommendations to prevent further pest infestation, including structural corrections, and will provide you with an IPM program. • Cover all trash receptacles, food containers, and compost bins. • Mop up spills immediately to prevent attraction of insects and other pests. ** Case study An IPM program developed for the National Park Service resulted in a 70% reduction in pesticide use within the first three years of implementation, and an IPM program developed for city trees in Berkeley, California, reduced pesticide use by over 90%, saving the city $22,500 in the first year of operation. B. HAZARDOUS PRODUCTS • A product is hazardous if it is: • Toxic - poisonous or capable of causing acute illness • Flammable - burns easily • Corrosive - eats through other materials (acids, for example) • Reactive - can explode if exposed to heat, air or shock • Some of the hazards of well-known cleaning products include: • Aerosol sprays: may contain ingredients that are toxic to the heart and central nervous system; may contain solvents that are VOCs or “volatile organic compounds” which contribute to global warming and can contaminate ground and surface water. Alternatives: pump srpays, roll-ons, liquid, or non-aerosol sprays. • Dish detergent: non-biodegradable, high concentrations of phosphates which kill fish and other aquatic life. Alternatives: castile, glycerine-based, vegetable-oil based, or other naturally derived liquid soaps; in dishwashers use 50% borax and 50% washing soda. • Glass cleaner: emit ammonia mist. Alternatives: 50% white vinegar, 50% water and wipe with a newspaper to avoid streaking. • Oven cleaner: contain lye, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, all of which can burn human tissue including lung tissue. Alternatives: protect oven floor from spills with aluminum foil. Us 2 tablesppons liquid dish soap, 2 teaspoons borax, and 2 cups warm water to clean stains. Pour salt on fresh spills; scrape off when oven cools. • Surface cleaners: contain ammonia - which irritates lungs - and chlorine which forms cancer causing compounds when released into the environment. Mixed together, they form deadly chloramine gas. Alternatives: 1/2 cup of washing soda or borax in a bucket of hot water. Scour with a paste of baking soda and warm water. Scrub with a damp cloth or scrubbing pad. • Dispose of hazardous and toxic products according to label instructions. Toxic products include: drain cleaners, oven cleaners, rug and upholstery cleaners, spot removers, disinfectants, laundry detergents, bleach, mildew removers, floor wax, furniture polish, and air fresheners. • Never pour toxic liquids down the drain. • Don’t use commercial air fresheners. These often contain toxic chemicals such as ethanol, exylene or naphthalene. Replace them with small containers of vinegar and lemon juice. • Use non-phosphate based detergents. • Read the MSDS (Material Safety and Data Sheets) for products you use. • Prevent oil, grease, and other toxic materials from entering the sewer system; don’t hose down sidewalks, driveways, and parking lots. Avoid runoff from landscape irrigation. • Use organic compost instead of chemical fertilizers in landscaping. • Buy organically grown produce whenever possible. The production of organic food uses no pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizer. ***Non-toxic cleaners • Air freshener: vinegar, lemon juice or baking soda in an open dish; herbal/dried flower potpourri • All-purpose cleaner: 1 quart warm water, 1 tsp. liquid soap, 1 tsp. borax, squeeze of lemon or splash of vinegar. • Bleach (chlorine): non-chlorine bleach or baking soda; borax is a good whitener and grease cutter. • Oven cleaner: sprinkle baking soda or salt on spills when they are fresh and warm; scrape off when oven cools. Don’t let baking soda touch heating elements or wires. • Toilet bowl cleaner: put small amount of non-chlorine bleach into bowl, let stand for at least 30 minutes, scrub. Or, drizzle white vinegar or baking soda into the bowl. • Mold/mildew cleaner: use borax or white vinegar and water. For mildew, mix vinegar or lemon juice and salt. IV. STEP-BY-STEP TO REDUCING WASTE AND BECOME RESOURCE EFFICIENT IN YOUR RESTAURANT Reading this Handbook and selecting the recommendations you feel will work in your establishment is a good first step to minimizing waste and preventing pollution. However, you - as owner or manager - are just one part of a big team. It is important to involve the rest of your team members in this program. 1. Develop an environmental policy. • Write a company policy statement that reflects the commitment of management. • Post the policy for all staff and new hires to see. • Set waste reduction goals that are specific, measurable and achievable, such as a 50% reduction in garbage hauled away within the next 12 months. The same with energy efficiency: set a specific goal that can be measured, such as a 10% reduction in water or energy use over the next year. 2. Go Dumpster diving! • Really look at your restaurant’s trash • Assess your potential to recycle, reuse, reduce or eliminate trash. 3. Involve staff as team leaders, charged with developing, implementing, and monitoring the program. Let them know they have full support of management. • Stay in touch with them through occasional meetings and facility walk-throughs. • Develop a reward or recognition system for acknowledging top performance in meeting written goals. 4. Write out those recommendations that you wish to implement, post them in your employee’s break room, and request regular reports on progress. This doesn’t mean you’re off the hook for monitoring the program. The more input you have at the beginning, the more your staff will realize you’re serious about reducing waste and preventing pollution; before long, these steps will become part of the work ethic in your restaurant. 5. Make it easy for your employees. • Use big signs. • Put a garbage can next to a recycling container or locate recycling bins next to garbage containers. • Educate new employees about your environmental policy (see #1 above) right long with instructions on hours of work and how to use the coffee maker. • Schedule quarterly staff meetings to report program successes, encourage suggestions, and make adjustments in the goals. 6. Involve your customers. • Use table tents, window stickers and messages on the menus to relay your environmental policies and promote the successful program. • Conduct a customer survey to find out what they think about portion sizes, full water glasses, and unused condiments (see sample Customer Survey in RESOURCES). V. RESOURCES 1. Pest Control: Bio-Integral Resource Center 510/524-2567 • Fax 510/524-1758 PO Box 7414, Berkeley, CA 94707 (Integrated pest management [IPM] system; organic vs chemical pesticides) Mr. Mantis Organic Pest Control Dick Price 808/572-0728 • Cel 870-0153 1135 Makawao Avenue, Unit 106, Makawao, HI 96768 (Hawaii-specific pest control using IPM systems) 2. Wastewater, Grease Traps and Interceptors These contacts can help identify adequate grease trap and interceptor sizes for your restaurant, and advise you on the regulations for your county. They can also provide you with water-saving ideas and recommendations. City and County of Honolulu Dept. of Environmental Services, Administrative Support Division Wastewater Customer Branch 808/523-4408 • Fax 808/527-6061 City and County of Honolulu Environmental Quality Division, Regulatory Control Branch 808/527-5137 (Permits, regulatory requirements for new businesses) County of Hawaii Department of Public Works, Wastewater Division Peter Boucher, Wastewater Divison Chief 808/961-8338 • Fax 808/961-8644 • Email: [email protected] County of Kauai Wastewater Department 808/241-6610 • Fax 808/241-6589 (Only those restaurants connected to the county sewer system) County of Maui Department of Public Works & Waste Management Wastewater Reclamation Division 808/243-7417 Sammy Bautista, Civil Engineer 808/243-7427 Fax 808/243-7425 Dwight Nakao, Pretreatment Coordinator 808/243-7423 • Fax 808/243-7425 Environmental Biotech of Hawaii William L. Anderson, President 808/373-7780 • Fax 808/373-7781 549 Halemaumau Street, #C-2, Honolulu, HI 96821 (Designs, systems, procedures, and techniques for grease traps, interceptors) 3. Recycling Contact these agencies for information on solid waste recycling (glass, plastic, paper, cardboard, aluminum, and food waste) in your county. City and County of Honolulu Recycling Department 808/527-5335 • Fax 808/527-5864 (Solid waste recycling, Oahu) County of Hawaii Solid Waste Division Leslie Botelho, Chief Director 808/961-8339 • Fax 808/961-8553 (Solid waste recycle, Big Island) County of Kauai Public Works Dept. 808/241-6880 • Fax 808/241-6873 County of Maui Department of Public Works and Waste Management Recycling Section 808/243-7874 • Fax 808/243-7843 (Solid waste recycling, Maui) Maui Recycling Group HIMEX 808/667-7744 • 1-888-991-4000 • Email: [email protected] Web: www.himex.org (Solid waste recycling, County of Maui) Recycle Hawaii 808/329-2886 • Fax 808/966-6977 • Email: [email protected] Web: www.recyclehawaii.org Restaurant Conservation Specialists 808/671-1313 • fax 808/671-3112 State of Hawaii Department of Health, Office of Solid Waste Management 808/586-4240 • Fax 808/586-7509 4. Energy Conservation The electric companies provide ‘energy audits’ for businesses. The information gained in an audit will help you select energy efficient equipment and incorporate energy waste reduction policies in your restaurant. Hawaiian Electric, Oahu 808/543-7771 Energy Services, Marketing Dept. 808/543-4743 • Fax 808/543-4722 Kauai Electric Planning and Regulatory Affairs 808/246-4300 Maui Electric Company 808/871-8461 PO Box 398, Kahului, HI 96733 On Lanai: 808/565-6445 VI. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This handbook was prepared by Maui Recycling Group (Wailuku, Hawaii) and Harding Lawson Associates (Aiea, Hawaii and Portland, Oregon), under contract to Department of Health, Office of Solid Waste Management, State of Hawaii. The project was funded through a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency. The following groups, businesses and individuals provided information and support in this project, for which we are grateful: River City Resource Group, Inc. (“Green Plate Restaurant Recycling Guide”) Portland, Oregon GA Maxwell’s Marysville, Washington City of San Jose, Environmental Services Dept. San Jose, California John P. Winter and Sharene L. Azimi (“Less Garbage Overnight”) Carrie McCabe, Planner, Department of Health, Office of Solid Waste Management, State of Hawaii Richard B. Woodford, owner, Denny’s of Maui References INFORM, “Less Garbage Overnight: A Waste Prevention Guide for the Lodging Industry” King County (Washington) Solid Waste Division, “Recipes to Prevent Waste in the Restaurant” Minnesota Technical Assistance Program, “Solid Waste Management and Reduction in the Restaurant Industry” Oregon Department of Environmental Quality “Final Report: Oregon Waste minimization Program” River City Resource Group, “Green Plate Restaurant Recycling Guide” San Francisco Recycling Program, “Food for Thought: San Francisco Restaurants’ Guide to Waste Reduction and Recycling” City of San Jose Environmental Services Department, “Water Conservation Guide for Hotels & Motels” Environmental Biotech of Hawaii, “Grease Summit”