Recycling at Restaurants

Have any of you ever wondered why at some of the major fast and not that fast-fast food places, there is no place to recycle your things when finished?

Qdoba, Panera, and any other fast food-ish type place seem to have no place to recycle all of that recyclable material they give you.

*Edit* I was at Panera the other day and they now have a place to put glass bottles and cans. Still using styrofoam cups and no place for recyclable paper- but--Progress!

What about all the paper cups?
Paper boxes?
Plastic plates for chips?
Straw wrappers?
Sandwich/potato/etc wrappers?

How many people eat out in a day across the world and how much of that fully recyclable waste is just tossed into the garbage can when people leave due to lack of recycling bins?

The other week I went into a new privately owned restaurant of the above type in my neighborhood and thought to myself, "This time I'm going to say something."

I have thought many times before about sending a letter to the editorial section of the local paper, but it just kind of came out of my mouth at the end of my meal at this new restaurant.

I went up to one of the employees and asked, "Do you have a place to recycle these things?" "Yes", they said, "We have something in back." I thanked them and then said "Hey, you know it would be really great if there was a small place to rinse out these items out here in the restaurant next to the garbage so people could do their own recycling. If that's not possible, maybe at least a separate bin to put things in that could be taken to the back to be sorted through later. You'd be the first ones in town to do it if you did."
"Really? The first ones in town?" He said.
"I'll tell my manager right away."

Well, they haven't been able to do it yet, but my son and I marched up to the counter again with our recyclables after we went back this weekend and they took them in the back for us.

So I started thinking. Maybe I don't need to write a letter to the paper. If I could get a new restaurant to install something like that as an incentive to bring in business just by saying something, I suppose the 'chain' restaurants might decide they want a piece of that too. :)

So what do you say? Let's start a recycling revolution in the fast and not-so fast food industry. If there's no place to recycle it when you leave and take your items to the garbage, promptly go up to the counter and ask them if there is a place in back where they will recycle it for you!

I really think this is one area where many small voices can make a big difference.

Will you join me?