San Francisco Panera Bread Sets the Stage for Recycling Processes

Panera Bread is showing restaurants throughout the country that a 75% recycling rate is possible through effective waste management in fast food restaurants.

Panera Bread at 301 King Street in San Francisco has implemented a recycling program that diverts 75% of its waste from California landfills.  King Street Panera Bread’s recycling program falls in line with the San Francisco Commission on Environment’s goal for Zero Waste.

“When the store opened in April of 2007, we started out by just recycling and composting the waste from the kitchen, but our garbage bill was still around $3,500.00 per month,” said Erin Luikart, the General Manager for the King Street Panera Bread. “We implemented lobby recycling in the Winter of 2009 so our customers could sort their food waste and recycle items such as plastic cups. That brought our monthly expenses for waste removal down to about $2,800.00 per month.”

Head of environmental sustainability for Panera Bread, Mike Thies, recommended that the King Street Panera Bread purchase an indoor trash compactor through Global Trash Solutions, a waste consulting company out of Palm Beach, Florida. “The trash compactor had the most dramatic effect on our monthly expenses. We were able to reduce our volume of trash and recyclables by more than half, and reduce our monthly spending on waste removal by more than $1,000.00 per month,” said Luikart.

Panera Bread’s program has inspired improvements in restaurant waste management at other locations in parts of the country where comprehensive recycling programs are available, including Gig Harbor, WA; Federal Way, WA; Davis, CA, and the newly opened restaurants in New York City.

Initiatives Nationwide to Improve Restaurant Waste Management

New laws are springing up nationwide, including changes in San Francisco which seek to reduce the environmental impact of trash hauling companies. With limitations on service available and designated haulers in various zones, waste management for fast food restaurants will become more and more expensive.

Across the country, communities that offer recycling services for the types of materials used in convenience stores, fast-food places, and take-out restaurants are requiring businesses to separate these materials. Along with these regulations comes a logical need to sort, bale, and store recyclables and compress landfill waste to the smallest possible volume.

Panera Bread is an industry leader in seeking the best partners to reach its green initiative goals. By working together with Global Trash Solutions, they were able to drastically change how their restaurants manage these factors. Customers are actively looking for businesses to patronize that are aligned with their own environmental concerns.

Innovative Solutions for Restaurant Waste Management Are Available

Not only does Global Trash Solutions offer a full line of trash compactors and recycling balers for all industries, but they offer expert consultation and planning for waste management in fast-food restaurants. Your business can schedule a free consultation to determine the best equipment and workflow solutions to reclaim the most recyclable material possible while drastically reducing the volume of landfill garbage produced.

Call or contact us today to find out how Global Trash Solutions can drastically reduce your waste management costs and environmental footprint!