GDA staff, local suppliers, waste processors, food service professionals, community leaders, and students of sustainability came together to learn how to make the best choices in to-go ware. The group also discussed the challenges and barriers restaurants face when trying to phase out Styrofoam and #6 plastic, formulating ideas to decrease its consumption in St Louis. The workshop was hosted by Mangia Italiano, certified GDA Member, and in their stone- and brick-walled event space, attendees gathered around candlelit tables to find resources – like the Eco-Cycle Pocket Plastics guide – as well as compostable samples from Office Essentials to take home their restaurant.Jean Ponzi, from the EarthWays Center of the Missouri Botanical Garden, brought her interactive presentation “The Skinny on Plastic: A Cheap Poison” to educate the group on the subsidized prevalence, chemical make-up, and dangerous interactions of the material. The GDA then presented discernment tools, prioritized budgeting, and affordable, eco-friendly options for to-go ware to the food service professionals in the room, offering alternatives to buying Styro-foam and other #6 plastics. Posing to the group “Saying No to Styrofoam and #6 Plastic in Our Community – How Can it be Done?”, GDA Program Coordinator Olivia Engel then led a solutions-based discussion. Representatives from Republic Services, GDA Sponsor St. Louis Composting, local supplier Garrett Paper, and staff from St. Louis Earth Day and Recycling On the Go offered advice as an expert panel. Voices from universities, Community Improvement Districts, and restaurant owners chimed in with their questions and ideas. What we walked away with:
1) Consumers are the ones who create change in these markets – it’s up to us to not only support the businesses and products that match our values, but also to demand something better than the “norm.”
2) Community efforts make big change – whether it’s a Special Business District, a church congregation, or an Alliance of green restaurants, when groups unite their voices as well as their buying power, the culture and market around them will change!
3) Awareness is key. You friends and family need to know the hazardous effects of certain plastics and practices on their health, and restaurants need to know that there are affordable options available to them (Office Essentials’ GDA Member Special being particularly affordable!). We DO have choices – and we can all help each other learn more about them. What you can do: Talk. Share. Encourage. Ask. It’s up to us to show the world that we care. When you go out to eat and want to take home your left-overs, ask first if they use Styro-foam, and request tin foil or wax paper instead if they do. If you notice your favorite cafe uses only disposable cups, bring your own mug or thermos and talk with the owner about it. Remind them that they’re literally throwing money away! And of course, refer them to us. Making eco-friendly changes and decisions can be very difficult, if for no other reason than the time it can take. The GDA has a multitude of resources and expertise available to restaurants who are looking to make green changes. Have them contact Olivia at olivia@greendiningalliance.org, or 314-877-8608. And in the mean time, keep putting your money where your mouth is by supporting GDA Member Restaurants and encouraging your favorite spots to go green!
