Making A Restaurant Kitchen More Eco-friendly

Not being environmentally conscious can cause pollution, worsen global warming and lead to other problems related to the environment. A number of restaurants are embracing green techniques, such as serving farm-to-table food as well as using energy-saving lights and appliances, to drive sales, reduce energy bills and save on general store costs. Most customers, on the other hand, expect restaurants to be green. They may even pay more or travel long distances to eat in restaurants embracing environmentally-friendly techniques. Here are tips on how restaurants can go green.

Energy-efficient Lights And Appliances
Restaurants can go green by replacing traditional light bulbs with lights that save energy, including light-emitting diodes (LEDs), halogen incandescent and compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). These energy-efficient lights use less energy, last longer and emit less heat, saving on air conditioning costs. Additionally, most of these lights emit less carbon or don’t emit carbon at all.

Inefficient kitchen appliances waste a lot of energy through excess heat and noise. Using  energy-saving   steamers, ovens, stove ranges, fryers and other appliances may also help reduce pollution and energy costs. Restaurants who want to go green should consider energy-efficient refrigeration. Make sure that the dishwasher is almost empty before running it.

Install Flow Restrictors On Faucets And Low-flow Toilets
Flow restrictors and stops regulate the amount of water used on dish machines, and dish or hand washing sinks. Restaurant kitchens that use flow restrictors save several gallons of water every day and, eventually, reduce costs of water. Low flush toilets also tend to lower water bills.

Recycled Paper Products
It is vital that restaurants use utensils and paper goods that are easily recyclable and biodegradable instead of the non-biodegradable Styrofoam, which are often used to make soup cups, coffee cups and take out boxes. Using recyclable napkins, cups and containers as well as packaging food and printing items with eco-friendly material help save trees and reduce carbon emission. Ditching paper napkins for cloth napkins, which can be washed and reused, is also one way of going green.

Growing Your Own Garden
Growing vegetable and herb gardens not only aid fresh produce provision, but they also help cut down on the amounts of toxic synthetic pesticides, hormones and other chemicals in food. It is important to supplement what the gardens cannot produce with produce from local and organic farmers to reduce pollution resulting from long distance transportation. In most cases, local food tastes better than food from large-scale farms. Be sure to purchase sustainable food to ensure that the ecosystem and agriculture are maintained.

Composting And Recycling
Installing recycling stations in the kitchen and other points in the restaurant may aid in composting and recycling. Depending on where the restaurant is located, building a compost pit may help save the environment. It is vital that eco-friendly restaurant owners train their staff on the importance of composting and recycling garbage. Be sure to use leftovers or spoiled food on your garden, or give them away to local farmers or local community gardens.

Energy Efficient Ventilation
Installing energy-efficient ventilation in restaurant kitchens is another way of making the restaurant greener. Energy efficiency on ventilation system aids in lowering running costs. There is also even distribution of cleaner, purer air in such kitchens.

Adopting eco-friendly techniques helps restaurants save energy, water bills and reduce piles of garbage, protecting the environment. Going green can also help market and brand a restaurant. Restaurants that want to go green without costing a fortune should adopt the aforementioned techniques. In certain cases, initial investment may be costly when going green, but may be eventually beneficial in the long term.