OUR CURRENT NAPKIN DILEMMA As many of you know, The Peoples Pint has been using cloth napkins since we opened in 1997. The main reason wasnt because we think we are a fine dining establishment but rather, because we assumed it was the best option if we were to place environmental issues as our highest priority (a basis we use for many of the decisions we make here). For years we used a linen service but the cost was high and we knew bleaches and lots of hot water and electricity were being used -- not necessarily the best thing for our fragile eco-systems. Then we switched to colored cotton napkins that we washed ourselves. Now we could avoid the nasty bleaches and detergents. But over the years weve watched our hot water, detergent, sewer, and electric dryer expenses rise, knowing that high energy and water usage were doing no favors to our natural world. Plus we were doing 4 to 5 loads a day meaning a lot of labor was going towards washing, drying, and folding. So even with this option, environmental costs remain a big question and our expenses are still high. Since we also have an excellent composting program here at the Pint (and our washer broke) we decided to consider non-bleached, post consumer recycled paper napkins, reducing our water, electric, and labor costs but increasing the use of another natural resource. In conclusion, we are in the middle of an ongoing experiment and ask for your patience and appreciate your advice. Anyone in the field of environmental science and education want to take this on as a project -- the pros and cons from multiple perspectives of cloth versus paper napkins? Many thanks, Alden Booth alden@thepeoplespint
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 15:18:43 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015