Zero waste is quickly becoming a byword for many forward-thinking restaurants and bars. And the concept goes far beyond just considering how food scraps are repurposed. Now, the idea encompasses a more holistic view that includes everything from eschewing single-use items like straws to sourcing products from responsible suppliers. In doing so, this ethos extends beyond just serving food and drink to consider how the planet and its inhabitants are affected.
The Closed Loop System
The ultimate goal for zero-waste is the creation of a closed loop system that mimics nature where each ecosystem’s flora and fauna play a unique role in sustaining the system’s environment. The proverbial jewel in the closed loop crown is London’s Silo, which opened in 2014. As the world’s first “zero-waste” restaurant, it set the benchmark for later establishments. At Silo, various forms of waste are upcycled, fermented, or composted. Recycling is avoided as often as possible.
The key to adopting a program like this is a business model that is “centered on not creating waste in the first place,” notes Nicolas Torres, co-founder & beverage director at True Laurel in San Francisco. Torres doesn’t put the focus on zero-waste per se, but does strive for low-waste, eschewing the ever-present bin used for scraps in most establishments. Likewise, he purchases “ugly fruit,” which often has little more than cosmetic issues like bruising, but is still excellent for techniques like fermenting, which extends the life of a food product. Torres recalls, “One of our favorite berry farmers recently handed me about five gallons of blemished blackberries — for free. We pressed them and let them rest, and 11 days later we had a wild-fermented blackberry wine sitting at 5% ABV.” This sort of creative repurposing is essential to zero and low-waste ethics.
Ryan Dunton, bar manager at Aurum on Maui, stresses the need to close the loop on product usage by finding multiple uses for the whole item: “Like using fresh pineapple juice in a few cocktails and mocktails,” says Dunton. “Then you can take the pulp and reuse that for pineapple syrup. Taking the skins and making tepache with it. Also, if the kitchen can utilize the product as well it closes the waste gap.”
To further illustrate Aurum’s closed loop perspective, Dunton cites the bar’s process for making multiple in-house ingredients: “We make our own house made pineapple ginger beer for our mules. We cross utilize multiple products a few times in this drink. We make our own lime cordial in house. So, we use the peels of the limes and then juice those same limes in the drink. Pineapple goes into the drink a few times. We juice them, then use the pulp for the syrup as well. Also, we make fresh ginger syrup that we use in two different drinks. The kitchen also uses ginger in a few menu items as well in family meal throughout the week. We carbonate the ginger beer and use refillable bottles for all our mocktails.”
Local Sourcing
Another of the key tenets of zero-waste is to keep product sourcing as local as possible and maintaining relationships with producers who respect the land. “Our priority is locality—the soil, the organics, the people who steward the land,” says Torres, “and building real relationships that let us express a true sense of place while supporting those who practice more regenerative methods.” Regenerative agriculture focuses on the idea of preserving ecosystems and promoting biodiversity. By leaving plant and animal waste in the growing fields to naturally decompose and enrich the soil, it avoids the need for synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, thus adding to the closed loop concept.
Along with local sourcing and using all parts of an ingredient, it’s worth considering how an establishment can upcycle products for furniture and serving ware.
According to the Last Straw Collective, an organization that champions the zero-waste philosophy for the bar industry, there are multiple things to consider beyond local sources and product usage. Non-consumable waste must be considered. For example, people discard roughly 500 million plastic straws yearly; in turn, these single-use plastics end up polluting our oceans. Many establishments in the hospitality industry have already responded to the use of plastic straws, replacing them with those made from bamboo and paper, or simply not using them in drinks any longer. The no-straw policy is in effect at Little Red Door in Paris, but in addition, the bar no longer uses cocktail stirrers or napkins. It may seem like a small change, but when it happens on a large scale the impact is noticeable.
Some bars have also taken a deep-dive down the sustainable rabbit hole by incorporating the zero-waste concept into their actual bar design. At Silo, plastic bags are used to create the plates, and reconstituted food packaging forms the material for the tables. The architects for Barraco in Shanghai incorporated reclaimed, recycled, and found materials – the ceiling is covered in doors – into their design. Obviously, these sorts of choices often come with a hefty price tag, and it is much easier to attempt upcycling like this before a spot opens, rather than redesigning everything once you are in business.
Energy Considerations
Energy use is another concern due to the effect that non-renewable sources like coal, oil, and gas have on the planet. For example, True Laurel is part of a program called Supergreen that provides renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. And both Torres and Dunton mention that water usage is a huge challenge. Torres freely admits, “I’ll be honest—water usage is probably our biggest weakness. At the end of the day, we’ve got a lot of dishes to wash, and that adds up.”
Dunton adds, “The use of excess water is tricky. The amount of water you must use to wash hands, dishes and to sanitize is a health code area. Sacrificing the usage of water and product for this part comes down to public health that can’t be messed around with. But you do the best you can.” Among the suggestions Dunton makes is to be conscious of not overfilling ice wells at the end of the night, which ten require running hot water to burn the fresh, unused ice.
The pie-in-the-sky idea of a 100% zero-waste bar may not be possible, but many sustainable establishments are reaching upwards of 95%. In the final analysis, a bar must decide what it can and cannot do both practically and fiscally. For Torres, True Laurel approaches the concept by not labelling itself. “We don’t define zero-waste for ourselves, nor do we chase it as an identity,” he says. “We aim to be low waste, and we excel in certain areas, while others still need improvement.”
Zero-waste ideals walk hand in hand with multiple food and environmental movements from the locavore concept to sustainability initiatives to nose-to-tail eating. The long- term goal is to make intentional choices that reflect a responsibility to one’s business, community, and planet. Again, from Torres, “Our goal isn’t perfection; it’s authenticity, responsibility, and continually doing better.”
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