George McKerrow, co-founder of a chain of restaurants with media mogul Ted Turner, urged restaurateurs to minimize their carbon footprint at the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show in Orlando, Fla., this past weekend.
McKerrow, the chairman and president of Ted's Montana Grill, a 50-unit chain based in Atlanta, said the restaurant industry uses five times more energy and natural resources than any other retail industry.
However, restaurants acting as a group can make a change in U.S. policy and actions. "We have 13 million team members that can be voices for this change," said McKerrow.
Individual restaurants can make small green changes in their operations, including buying Energy Star appliances, using compact fluorescent and LED light bulbs and recycling fry oil. In a pilot project with Sysco Corp., Ted's Montana Grill is turning its used fry oil into biodiesel fuel.
Composting food waste is also important, since the restaurant industry produces a lot of food waste as it prepares vegetables and other compostable items.
"There are machines out there where you dump your food garbage in the machine and you can have homemade dirt. You can put that in your flower beds or sell it," said McKerrow.
Recycle all aluminum cans, glass, plastic, cardboard and other materials, and get paid a "significant amount of money" for doing so, added McKerrow.
Using recycled products in restaurants is also important and has been a philosophy of Ted's Montana Grill since the chain opened in 2002.
McKerrow also urged restaurateurs to consider new types of materials for packaging and serving. In its takeout packages, Ted's Montana Grill uses flatware made from potato starch and cornstarch, packaged in recycled cornstarch bags. The chain also uses disposable cups made from cornstarch, which are biodegradable. The chain offers paper straws coated with beeswax in addition to plastic straws.
