Bar/Restaurant Recycling

According to a 2011 National Restaurant Association survey, 65% of restaurateurs have recycling programs, and another 19% of full service operators plan to start one in the next year. While restaurateurs are recycling a variety of materials, 68% of full service restaurants and 52% of quick service recycle glass bottles.

And an in-depth survey of ten bar, restaurant, and hotel glass container recycling programs in eight states found that partnerships are key. In addition to collecting data on containers and processes, economic details, and logistics, the survey also identifies eight “best practices” that have come out of these trail-blazing programs. According to the 2011 survey, the average amount of glass collected through a bar, restaurant, hotel recycling program is about 150 tons/month, with an average of 100 participating businesses in each surveyed program. For all results, download the Executive Summary.

To expand sources for high-quality cullet, glass manufacturers are encouraging glass bottle recycling in commercial settings, including bars, restaurants, wineries, hotels, and other on-premise locations. About 18% of beverages are consumed on premise, and glass makes up to about 80% of that container mix. So these retail businesses are a good source of clean, high-quality recycled glass.

Check out what’s happening with bar/restaurant recycling across the U.S.:

San Luis Obispo, CA — A destination spot for over 7 million visitors a year, most to local wineries, in 2008 the city nearly doubled the number of bars and restaurants recycling and added glass recycling at local wineries. More

Colorado Springs, CO — Six years ago, Jeff Dahl collected glass bottles for recycling from a handful of local Colorado Springs, CO bars in his Chevy S10 pickup and trailer to Rocky Mountain Bottle Co. Today, Dahl Recycling services over 80 bars and restaurants, as well as Ft. Carson, the Air Force Academy, and residential customers collecting over 110 tons a month of glass bottles for recycling. More

Atlanta, GA — The Atlanta Hyatt Regency is just one of many restaurants and hotels that are working to be compliant with the challenge. Restaurants in Atlanta, including Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and Fifth Group Restaurants are also stepping up to recycle glass containers as well as other green initiatives.

Indianapolis, IN — Started in 2008, Broad Ripple Village, a commercial district in a north Indianapolis neighborhood, has expanded glass bottle recycling to 14 ten bars and restaurants and bringing in about 20 ton/month. More

St. Louis, MO — “There are two primary items that restaurants and food services have that don’t typically get recycled—glass bottles and food waste,” says Harry Cohen, owner of Blue Skies Recycling in St. Louis, MO. So Cohen signed up the St. Louis Cardinals and over 30 local restaurants to help keep these valuable commodities from going to the landfill. More

Las Vegas, NV — In 2010, the MGM Resorts International hotel group surpassed their goal to recycle over 3,600 tons of glass at 10 of their Las Vegas hotel properties. They expect to exceed that in 2011. More

North Carolina — In 2008, NC passed a law requiring all Alcohol Beverage Permit holders to recycle their beverage containers. In 2010, over 75,000 tons of glass containers were collected for recycling (up from about 45,000 tons/year before the law). And find out more about glass container recycling at North Carolina hotels like the Grove Park Inn & Spa.

Hamilton County, OH — Since the fall of 2010, Hamilton County, which includes Cincinnati, Ohio, has offered assistance to bars and restaurants that want to recycle glass bottles and jars. Today, 34 bars and restaurants are participating, with a goal to reach 50 by end of summer 2011. More

Marion County, OH — Glass bottle recycling began at bars and restaurants in the Marion, OH (population 66,000) downtown area in January 2011. “Glass Act” now collects about three tons/week of mixed glass bottles and jars for recycling from nearly 40 participating bars and restaurants. More

Houston, TX — At WeCANRecycle about 50 tons/month of glass bottles is recycled from local bars, restaurants, and other businesses. In 2009, their glass recycling program kept over 88 tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere. More

Resources for Bar/Restaurant Recycling

1. Download a fact sheet to help bars, restaurants, and hotels kick-start glass bottle recycling.

2. Download a kit to help bars and restaurants kick-start glass recycling.

3. Use a simple worksheet to estimate the amount of glass generated at a business.

4. Download art for print and online ads, posters, and T-shirts. And, visit the Partnership for Bar and Restaurant Recycling for resources on getting the right bins, contracting with a recycler, and more.

5. Download a logo for menus, table tents, napkins, coasters, stickers to let customers know “We Recycle Glass Bottles”.