Zero Waste Support for Food Service Providers

The Table Public House is a family-friendly coffee shop and bar by the South Platte River. It's owned and operated by a local non-profit with a mission of providing access to healthy food. The Table Public House offers various drinks, small plates, and catered events. The variety of amenities makes it a true community hub. They joined Reuse Denver to complete their transition to 100% reusable service ware for onsite dining.

Due to their low inventory of reusables, The Table Public House often relied on single-use disposables. Before joining the program:

• They served their pastries on disposable paper napkins.
• They often ran out of cutlery in the café and had to resort to using plastic cutlery.
• For catered events, they relied entirely on disposables.

Through this program, they invested in reusable service ware for their operations. They now offer reusable service ware to all dine-in customers and for catered events, including:

• Metal cutlery, such as forks, knives and spoons.
• Stoneware plates for their pastries.
• A water station with reusable cups.

Their previous experience with reusables made the transition smooth. The team was able to divide up the extra dishwashing without adding more staff time or cost. They were able to put their cost savings towards other needs. The Table Public House reduced the use of 27,990 units of single-use disposable items annually.

Cost Saving Impacts After Initial Investment of Reusable Service Ware

_{* Annual cost savings from disposables reduction is the savings from no longer purchasing disposable service ware items that have been replaced by reusables. In some cases, it may also include the savings from lower waste hauling bills.}

_{** A 20% loss rate for reusable service ware and the cost to replace those items was automatically included to calculate the annual costs associated with reusable service ware. In some cases, annual costs may also include increased labor or ware washing supplies.}

_{*** Payback period is the time it takes to recoup the cost of the initial investment through the cost savings from disposables reduction.}

_{**** Annual net cost savings are calculated by subtracting annual costs from annual cost savings. These represent the annual savings that will be achieved after the payback period.} 

Los Molinos is a busy, family-run Mexican restaurant on the Auraria Campus. It offers counter service in the food court, and is a favorite among students and faculty. Los Molinos serves affordable, homemade meals in a friendly setting. They joined Reuse Denver to switch to reusable service ware to reduce waste, cut costs and create a more cozy atmosphere for customers.

Although they take part in the campus composting program, Los Molinos has never offered reusable dishes to customers. Before joining the program, they used paper plates, foam cups and bowls, plastic cutlery and disposable ramekins. Purchasing these items had cost them thousands of dollars a year. The disposable items also produced excess waste and didn't complement the food presentation.

Through this program, they were able to invest in:

• Stoneware plates and bowls.
• Metal cutlery, such as forks, knives and spoons.
• Bus cart and signage to make returns easy for customers.

The new dishes help make the food pop and have helped improve the restaurant's image. Los Molinos reduced the use of 27,006 units of single-use disposable items annually.

Cost Saving Impacts After Initial Investment of Reusable Service Ware

_{* Annual cost savings from disposables reduction is the savings from no longer purchasing disposable service ware items that have been replaced by reusables. In some cases, it may also include the savings from lower waste hauling bills.}

_{** A 20% loss rate for reusable service ware and the cost to replace those items was automatically included to calculate the annual costs associated with reusable service ware. In some cases, annual costs may also include increased labor or ware washing supplies.}

_{*** Payback period is the time it takes to recoup the cost of the initial investment through the cost savings from disposables reduction.}

_{**** Annual net cost savings are calculated by subtracting annual costs from annual cost savings. These represent the annual savings that will be achieved after the payback period.} 

As a small but growing business, they valued sustainability, but offering reusable service ware seemed out of reach. Before joining the program:

• They served drinks in paper hot cups.
• Food came on plastic plates or plastic clamshells.
• They only provided plastic forks.

Through this program, Kim invested in high-end reusables such as stoneware plates and metal forks. Kim also provided clear expectations and trained her team to add reusables to their operations. The team also anticipated a learning curve for staff when it came to dishwashing. To help with the increased labor costs, Sesame Sandwiches also received a grant from Certifiably Green Denver to get an energy-efficient dishwasher. Sesame Sandwiches reduced the use of 7,560 units of single-use disposable items annually.

Cost Saving Impacts After Initial Investment of Reusable Service Ware

_{* Annual cost savings from disposables reduction is the savings from no longer purchasing disposable service ware items that have been replaced by reusables. In some cases, it may also include the savings from lower waste hauling bills.}

_{** A 20% loss rate for reusable service ware and the cost to replace those items was automatically included to calculate the annual costs associated with reusable service ware. In some cases, annual costs may also include increased labor or ware washing supplies.}

_{*** Payback period is the time it takes to recoup the cost of the initial investment through the cost savings from disposables reduction.}

_{**** Annual net cost savings are calculated by subtracting annual costs from annual cost savings. These represent the annual savings that will be achieved after the payback period.} 

Hamburger Mary’s Denver is a vibrant restaurant chain. It's a welcoming space that hosts daily events and fundraisers for LGBTQ+ causes. It offers drag shows, bingo, and karaoke. They serve burgers, sandwiches, and cocktails. They wanted to reduce waste but were concerned about the time it might take to switch, so they joined Reuse Denver.

The restaurant caters to fast, high-volume service. During the weekends, they serve hundreds of shots of alcohol and offer food buffet-style. Before joining the program, they served food on disposable plates. All condiments and side dishes came in plastic ramekins.

Through this program, they invested in reusable service ware for their operations. They now offer side dishes and condiments in metal ramekins and food on ceramic plates. Hamburger Mary’s has reduced their waste production by over 40% as a result of these changes.

The staff was initially worried about extra dishwashing with the new reusables. They quickly discovered that their dishwashing machine handles the extra dishes without issues. Hamburger Mary’s Denver reduced the use of 160,400 units of single-use disposable items annually.

Cost Saving Impacts After Initial Investment of Reusable Service Ware

_{* Annual cost savings from disposables reduction is the savings from no longer purchasing disposable service ware items that have been replaced by reusables. In some cases, it may also include the savings from lower waste hauling bills.}

_{** A 20% loss rate for reusable service ware and the cost to replace those items was automatically included to calculate the annual costs associated with reusable service ware. In some cases, annual costs may also include increased labor or ware washing supplies.}

_{*** Payback period is the time it takes to recoup the cost of the initial investment through the cost savings from disposables reduction.}

_{**** Annual net cost savings are calculated by subtracting annual costs from annual cost savings. These represent the annual savings that will be achieved after the payback period.} 

Any food service provider is eligible to apply if it:  

• Has a physical location with the City and County of Denver  
• Offers dine-in service 
• Has dishwashing capabilities (if applying for Reuse Denver track)

Examples of food service providers that are eligible for this funding include but are not limited to: 

• Cafe/Coffee Shop 
•  Fast Casual 
•  Full-Service Casual (diner, bistro, family restaurant) 
•  Fine Dining 
•  Bar/Brewery 
•  Bakery 

Preference will be given to businesses located in a Denver Neighborhood Equity and Stabilization (NEST) neighborhood. Learn more at denvergov.org/NEST 

Participants may receive up to $1,000 worth of reusables food service ware. Participants that make the switch to reusables may also be eligible to receive up $3,600 for up to one year of compost service. However, you can still receive the reusable service ware incentive without adding composting.

No. Food Service Providers may find that just switching some of their service ware to reusables is the best first step to reducing their waste. A full switch to reusables is not required as part of participation in the Reuse Denver track.

No. Reuse Denver is focused on reusable service ware for dine-in service only.

No. This program will not fund dishwashers. However, Certifiably Green Denver's Mini Grants helps small businesses fund their sustainability projects, which could include an EnergyStar dishwasher.

If you need assistance completing the application, please email sustainability@denvergov.org for help.