March 25, 2013

COMPOSTING TO CUT DOWN ON WASTE, INCREASE PROFITABILITY

If you own a small business, finding ways to go green can have a positive impact on your bottom line. That's the theory behind a new pilot program for White Castle, one of the nation's biggest fast food chains.

In December, White Castle began a new program to make better use of food waste and paper waste produced by the restaurant. Used hamburger boxes, paper towels, coffee filters, coffee grounds, spoiled and unused foods and leftovers found in garbage cans are collected by team members and then picked up by a landscaping company.

After being turned to compost, the landscaper returns and uses the materials on the landscaping around White Castle locations, and any excess is then sold to the public. The program could not only help White Castle save money on maintaining their grounds, but also could have a tremendous environmental impact.

For now, White Castle is just running the program on a trial basis at six of its locations in the Columbus, Ohio, area. In May, the company will evaluate the program and determine if it is viable for introducing at more stores throughout the more than 420 White Castle locations nationwide.

Has your company tried composting as a way to make good use of waste? If so, share your story in our Comments section.