Bring Out the China, Hold the Plastic, Activists Advise Restaurants
Rick Karlin | July 25, 2022 | Times Union
Bring out the real silverware and glasses and hold the plastic utensils.
That’s the theme of a new free guide that an environmental group has put out advising restaurant operators on how they can reduce their use of plastics.
“Restaurants, in particular, have a big role to play in addressing our plastic pollution crisis,” said Judith Enck, a former EPA regional administrator as well as the founder and president of Beyond Plastics, which aims to reduce the amount of fossil fuel-based plastic that goes into the waste stream.
“We want to help restaurant owners and managers take the first step towards becoming part of the solution.”
Timing of the guide is fortuitous, considering the amount of take-out food that many people have consumed during the last two years as the COVID-19 pandemic kept people at home.
That’s led to mounds of plastic straws, disposable plastic cutlery, and single-use plastic packets of ketchup, soy sauce, and mustard in many residential kitchens.
