These restaurants are pushing the zero-waste movement in the US

Good food and set these US zero-waste restaurants apart | Photos from @lionfishdelray/Instagram and @rhodora_wine_bar/Instagram

In case you haven’t heard, January is Zero Waste Month. And though the concept may seem new for some, the movement actually first began in the ‘80s.

Zerowaste.com attributes its beginnings to “Daniel Knapp’s concept of Total Recycling” during this time. “Knapp and his wife founded salvaging operation and market, Urban Ore, in Berkeley, California in the 1980s, and from this real-world experiment, they showed how all types of waste could be diverted from landfill and reused within the community.”

The idea spread, eventually making it to policymakers and even creating even bigger organizations and alliances dedicated to the concept. But the zero-waste lifestyle as we know it really entered the mainstream some 30 years later, by the 2010s, when blogger Bea Johnson started sharing her own personal zero-waste journey.

Now there are many followers of the zero-waste movement, and it has extended far beyond the reach of the personal. Now, industries are getting involved and playing their part, too, armed with the understanding that all this is to benefit the ailing earth.

The principles of zero-waste

In our youth, we were probably taught the 3Rs: reduce, reuse, and recycle. While this still holds true, to push it a step further towards the adoption of zero-waste, we can add two more “Rs”—refuse, at the beginning, and rot, at the end.

Simply put, the 5 Rs cycle for zero-waste goes like this:

– Refuse items with negative environmental impact
– Reduce consumption of resources
– Reuse items, choose those that you can reuse instead of throwing away (i.e. glass bottles instead of plastic bottles, reusable containers instead of single-use boxes or bags)
– Recycle items that cannot be refused, reduced, or reused
– Rot, or compost or create organic fertilizer out of biodegradable items, instead of just sending them over to trash or landfills

Zero-waste in the food industry

While the sustainability and zero-waste movements have been getting more and more attention recently, fact is there’s still a lot of work to be done.

According to the New York Times, the Environmental Protection Agency found that nearly 45 percent of materials sent to landfills in the US are food waste and packaging. Another study also reported that the US generates more than 11 million tons of food waste a year.

You may also like: Root-to-stem cooking is the way to a zero-waste menu

Even so, we’re seeing restaurants slowly taking an effort to be more mindful with their products and waste. Several authorities in the food industry, such as the Michelin Guide, have even begun awarding restaurants that have noteworthy sustainable practices. 

Called the Michelin Green Star, the annual award is given to restaurants that “offer dining experiences that combine culinary excellence with outstanding eco-friendly commitments,” the Michelin Guide says.

If you’re curious what zero-waste dining looks like right now in the US—or better yet, interested in trying it out for yourself, here are some of the best zero-waste restaurants in the country.

Rhodora

Located in Brooklyn, New York, Rhodora is among the most well-known spots that have successfully ingrained zero-waste practices into their system. The wine bar sources their bottles from small-farm winemakers, and the suppliers for the dishes they serve at the bar have been carefully curated and chosen as ones who can meet their sustainable standards. They only source and use products that can be composted, recycled, or upcycled.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @rhodora_wine_bar

Bulrush

This restaurant in Missouri prides itself as “rooted in Ozark cuisine.” This means that their dishes are local, not only by ingredients but by the history behind the dishes, too. The Bulrush team does extensive and intensive research into the origins of food and the land. Aside from highlighting their history, Bulrush also features hyper-seasonal ingredients as well as produce foraged by the team themselves. They are also fully zero-waste in that scraps are turned into drinks or sauces, and any other scraps that cannot be used are sent to be used for compost.

You may also like: These small steps may take you closer to big ‘zero-waste’ goals

Lionfish

Meanwhile, San Diego is home to ocean-friendly restaurant Lionfish, helmed by James Beard Certified Smart Catch Leader chef Jose Ruiz. In line with Lionfish’s commitment to sustainability, the restaurant uses seafood sourced directly from trusted fishermen, and uses alternative fish and seafood species as options for their dishes. This is to avoid overfishing popular species on the supply chain. Aside from ocean-friendly ingredients, the restaurant is also reducing its disposable waste and employs the usage of eco-friendly and biodegradable supplies.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lionfish Delray (@lionfishdelray)

Harbor House Inn

This Michelin star and Michelin green star-awarded boutique hotel has a menu that utilizes available produce from their own farm, where around 80 percent of the hotel and restaurant’s food is grown and sourced. Vegetable waste is also turned into compost.

Family Meal at Blue Hill

Another one-star Michelin restaurant in New York also boasts a Michelin green star. The menu at Family Meal highlights seasonality, and primarily features vegetables that are sourced from Blue Hill at Stone Barns. The restaurant also works with several farmers in the region. “[We ask] what each farmer is excited about but is not selling successfully at the market or to other restaurants,” Dan Barber of Blue Hill says to the Michelin Guide. “We believe a staff educated in sustainability will make conscious decisions personally and professionally in their future beyond Blue Hill.”

Daisies

This Italian Bib Gourmand restaurant in Chicago sources most of its produce from a family farm, while fruits on its menu are sourced from nearby sources. The restaurant also uses fermentation to maximize their resources and limit waste. 

HipCityVeg

Located in Philadelphia, HipCityVeg is a plant-based fast-casual restaurant whose green push is not just because of its veggie alternative meals. The restaurant sources ingredients locally, makes use of compostable packaging, and also decorates their space with salvaged and recycled furniture. Their deliveries are also done via bicycle.