Harbortouch Offers 3 Tips to Make Your Restaurant More Eco-Friendly

ALLENTOWN, PA / ACCESSWIRE / March 13, 2020 / Going green can benefit your business as well as the environment. Harbortouch, one of the nation's leading point of sale (POS) system providers, has worked with tens of thousands of restaurants over the years. Their team is here to explain how you can make your eatery more eco-friendly to be kinder to the earth, cut costs, and boost business.

3 Steps to an Eco-Friendly Eatery

Reduce Waste

The first step to operating a more eco-friendly eatery is to cut down on waste. If you throw out a lot of expired food, improving inventory management will help. You can use reports from your POS system to improve to help you make smart, data-driven decisions. Also, make sure your employees are practicing the "first-in, first-out" (FiFo) method of using older products first.

You can also donate extra food that's fit for consumption to a local shelter or food bank, and give scraps to local farmers for feed or compost. Avoid using styrofoam as it is not biodegradable, and provide eat-in customers with reusable dishes and fabric napkins instead of disposable products. Use unbleached paper products for things such as coffee filters, and ask customers if they want a straw instead of assuming they do.

Buy Local and In Season

The farm to table trend is a trifecta of goodness for businesses, consumers, and the environment alike. Consider reducing your carbon footprint and improving the quality and taste of your food by ordering ingredients from local farmers, Harbortouch explains.

You may even consider starting an on-site plot at the restaurant or your home to grow fresh ingredients like herbs and produce. On a similar note, consider using seasonal ingredients rather than items that have to be shipped from far-off destinations. Seasonal menus, including items such as root vegetables in autumn and winter, and berries in the summer, can help you reduce costs while improving food quality.

Conserve Energy

Another way to save money while going green is by reducing energy consumption. If you often forget to turn off outdoor lights in the daytime, consider installing a photocell sensor that turns off when the sun comes up. Also, use green cleaning products whenever possible, instead of bleach and other chemicals that are harmful to the environment, Harbortouch explained. Invest in regular HVAC maintenance to ensure your system is working efficiently, and remove the dust and debris from refrigerator coils. Also, check the gaskets on the freezer and refrigerator doors to ensure they are sealing properly. Shut off appliances such as dishwashers, exhaust hoods, and fryers, whenever they're not in use, and invest in Energy Star appliances as well to cut down considerably on energy usage in the kitchen, explained Harbortouch.