Having a meal at your favorite fast food restaurant? Take a close look at the plates, trays and wrappers used to serve your food.
You’ll find that many of them are compostable and that the rest are recyclable – the result of a Seattle law designed to stop the waste of single-use food service ware.
Instead of a single garbage can, your restaurant should now have three types of containers: one for compostables, one for recyclables, and one for garbage. Each one should be clearly marked with colorful signs, showing you which packaging and products are compostable and which are recyclable.
Take a moment at the end of your meal to stop, think and sort. Make sure that what’s on your tray goes in the right bin, and place any leftover food into the compost container.
All of the fast-food service ware and packaging that used to be thrown away every year filled a one-mile, 100-car garbage train that we send to a landfill in Oregon. With your help and great cooperation from local restaurants, we’re working our way toward zero waste.