Are Zero-Waste Restaurants Serving the Next Wave of Environmental Consumerism? Photo: Unsplash
We all have pet peeves and I’m just going to lean into one of mine for a second here: people complaining about our now-limited access to plastic straws. First world problems are so extreme in 2019 that letting go of a relatively useless and entirely wasteful everyday luxury is more painful than taking responsibility for the large-scale harm that luxury brings to the world.
And somehow, growing awareness and taking accountability for it all — something humanity deserves an objective pat on the back for — makes anybody in the “let’s just not use them” camp an asshole, according to outraged victims of paper straw trauma. It’s infuriating enough to some that they’re willing to pay 750 percent above market value for said important item so they can both stick it to the elitist gatekeepers of straw access (read: freedom) and sleep well knowing they don’t have to resort to drinking straight from a container like peasants and savages.
On the flip side of the argument (and a convenient segue), the world-ending political powder keg plastic straw/paper straw movement was born from an understanding that taking care of the planet shouldn’t be left up to the consumer at the end of the line. We’ve been taught to “reduce, reuse, and recycle” for decades now but as my favorite owner of free health care so eloquently put it, “It’s just that no one reuses or recycles them because human beings are, for the most part, kind of shitty when it comes to cleaning our collective house.” Cut em off at the source is the inspiration behind today’s shortage of plastic straws — a proactive approach to drastically diminishing how much trash we create and eventually leave behind. This is exactly why Restaurant Nolla (“Zero”) presents a really intriguing concept: zero-waste restaurants.
Anybody who’s ever walked through the back of the house in a restaurant knows there’s a ton of crap that’s wasted by serving food to humans. From the delivery truck’s emissions to the styrofoam container filled with leftovers you’ll never touch and everything in between, eating out creates a mindblowing footprint on the environment. So the chefs who opened Helsinki’s Nolla took on the task of running a restaurant that creates no waste. None. That’s not an exaggeration or catchy marketing ploy, according to their business model. Down to the last detail, even excess food is turned into compost that goes back to the farmers they buy from or is sent home with customers.
“We strongly believe that the contemporary waste management practices of the industry are outdated, and we want to do something about it,” the restaurant’s website explains. “At Nolla there is no waste bin in the kitchen nor can you find any single-use plastic in the restaurant either. No produce wrapped in plastic, no cling film, no vacuum bags. Every detail from staff clothing and napkins to tableware has been thought of. Even the gift cards are made of compostable paper that has poppy seeds in them.”
According to a feature in Fast Times,the zero-waste restaurant accounted for a million things you might not think of, like going to their coffee supplier and asking them to swap out delivering their grounds in plastic vacuum-sealed bags for reusable containers. The effort caught on with other local cafes and hotels who now have their roaster use the same containers. Supplies from farmers are delivered in crates that are returned and reused, which in turn helps them save money. The menu is seasonal and only four or six set courses so chefs can cut down on surplus ingredients. Whatever surplus does exist at the end of the day is tossed into their in-house composter. Guests aren’t given paper menus when they come in, reading off a chalkboard instead. They even specifically picked out chairs for the dining room handmade from old walnut tree wood because, “They are made to last a lifetime!”
“We’re three young cooks that have been working in different restaurants from casual to high-end and have just been frustrated with the amount of waste that’s created every day,” says Luka Balac, one of the chefs who launched Nolla.
I’d be willing to bet a lot of money that even if you ask nicely, your no-waste Diet Dr. Pepper won’t come with an expensive red straw of freedom.
