Kent County, DE Green Table Program
Type: Program
Status: Ongoing
Source File: http://www.co.kent.de.us/Departments/PublicWorks/GreenTableProgram.htm
Description:
The Green Table Program is a voluntary program for restaurants who adopt and implement an environmental management system. Participating restaurants are allowed to display the Green Table logo in their establishment and on their advertising. They are subject to random inspections and audits to ensure that they are following the principles established as a baseline for the program.
A summary of the program can be found by clicking on the link for the free "Guide to Being an Environmentally-Friendly Restaurant" in pdf format. This document is a pamphlet that should be printed landscape and double-sided in order for the pages to properly fit.
Excerpts from the Guide
What’s the Problem?
Restaurants use various toxic chemicals and generate a wide variety of wastes. Some of these include:
- Waste paper
- Waste plastics
- Waste food (table scraps and food preparation remains)
- Waste fats, oils and greases (FOG)
- Pesticides
- Toxic cleaners, disinfectants, bleach
These wastes and chemicals have a significant impact. They:
- Take up valuable landfill space
- Clog up pipes and sewers and create sanitary sewer overflows
- Generate greenhouse gases when they decompose
- Cost the restaurants and the public dollars
- Degrade our precious natural resources
- Cause surface water and groundwater contamination.
What Else can I do?
Join the “Green Table” Program by committing to the
ten principles outlined in this pamphlet.
If you sign the “Green Table” commitment on the back page of this pamphlet, and send it to the Kent County Levy Court, Dept. of Public Works, and subsequently, pass an audit of your management system, you can display the “Green Table” logo and advertise that you are participating in the program.
This will show all patrons that you are an environmentally-friendly restaurant.
Sample Environmental Policy
To protect our environment, we believe and practice the
following principles:
- The protection of the environment is a critical issue for the future of global food production.
- The environment will be an important issue for consideration in our business-making processes.
- We will seek to minimize the environmental impact of our business operations on our local community and the communities of our suppliers.
- We will dispose of our waste and by-products in a manner that has minimal impact on the environment.
- We will encourage suggestions from our staff for improvements in environmental protection.
- We will inform staff and the public about our environmental program.
- We will participate in community initiatives that care for and improve the environment.
- We will lead by example with our environmental endeavors.
- We will commit the necessary resources, both monetary and personnel, to ensure that this policy is implemented.