The reaction to our first podcast on sustainability for bars was so huge that we’re re-visiting the topic this week and diving deep into what we can do to reduce our impact as an industry. For starters, Brian Weber from the Bartender Journey podcast reached out right away, and we guested on his show to talk sustainability (hence having him as a guest here last week too!). Brian has already stopped tasting his drinks with straw dipping.
Making a small change like that can be the catalyst to something much larger – even if it just serves you as a reminder to consider what can be done to bartend more sustainably.
Why Sustainability for Bars is Vital
For me personally, the past few weeks of looking into sustainability for bars has been an enormous eye opener. Even with this podcast, we’re only just scratching the surface. We’re looking mainly at techniques that would fit craft cocktail bars at the moment, though many could be used anywhere.
We’ll look at nightclubs and higher volume venues at a later date in more detail, however there’s plenty here that works.
Topics on Sustainability for Bars
Straws
Straws are one of the main reasons we started thinking about sustainability in bars. Maybe it seems like a small thing, but it’s one of the easiest wins that you can do to reduce your impact on the planet.There are a number of options with respect to straws and bar sustainability. Biodegradable straws, reusable items, or even pasta as we discussed on our previous podcasts. Simply not adding the straws to a drink without them being requested will make and enormous difference to your consumption.
Also, dip tasting drinks using straws can be a huge consumption. Pouring a drop into a clean glass to taste can reduce wastage drastically, though you must also take into account the water and chemicals used for cleaning when you check your carbon footprint.
Glass – Recycle, Reuse, Upcycle
Glass bottles are a huge volume of the waste generated by most bars, therefore its a perfect focus for change. These can be recycled, however that still uses a good deal of energy, even if it saves the bottles from landfill or the sea.
If you can reduce your consumption of glass bottles that is even better. Those bottles you must buy in could be re-used as either service vessels or for home made ingredients rather than being trashed.
Options like switching to aluminium cans which are highly recyclable rather than bottles can also help. As they’re lighter too, this also reduces transport costs.
Composting
Bars create food waste. That’s just a fact. Yes, there are ways of reducing this but if you’re a craft bar and you’re looking to use fresh fruit juices, then its certainly worth the effort to make use of your food waste. If you’re working in a restaurant, that means there will be even more to deal with.
By simply adding a composting bin you will be able to convert your food waste from the bar or restaurant into useful nutrients. These can be used to grow fresh herbs, fruits or vegetables on site that you can use in your food or beverage program.
What a great way to build a story for your guests about how your bar wastes nothing! You’ll never have fresher herbs than those you pick on site right before your shift, which will make your drinks taste even better. What a great way to talk to your guests about the story of their drinks!
Fruit packaging
Of course, composting the waste from the bar is great, but if the packaging still has to go to landfill, that’s still an issue. If you’re selling frozen lasagnes and pies, there’s probably little you can do.
