In the past, local bars have had to choose between two different greens – money and sustainability. But university students are trying to prove they can have both.
Students from two university organizations – the Society for Green Business and the Quality Enhancement Systems and Teams Honors Fellows Program, also known as QUEST – conducted a waste stream analysis for Cornerstone Grill and Loft late last month and found that 86 percent of Cornerstone’s trash was actually recyclable. They hope to use the data to persuade the bar to recycle their plastic cups and beer bottles, a step management hasn’t taken in the past because, they say, it’s too expensive.
Sophomore operations management major Jeremy Loya said as the university continues to push its green agenda, it makes sense for the surrounding community to become more environmentally friendly, too.
The university students – who limited the study to Cornerstone because of their available manpower – collected trash from the bar from open until close on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday to survey the bar during one week. Employees were asked to throw away recyclable goods in colored bags and trash in clear bags before they were sorted by the students conducting the analysis.
After the trash was thrown away in dumpsters, it was measured by volume. Over the three days, Cornerstone threw away 18 dumpsters worth of recyclable material and only three dumpsters of actual trash – meaning that 86 percent of Cornerstone’s trash was actually recyclable.
But while Cornerstone has yet to receive the results from the students – the group still needs to complete the second part of the project and will probably not be ready to share their findings with Cornerstone until the summer, said Tian Tian Feng, the vice president of advocacy for the Society for Green Business – the bar would implement recycling if it were a cost-effective option, said Brian Lambert, Cornerstone’s general manager.
And while Feng stressed “the process of recycling is really feasible,” Lambert said it would be somewhat difficult to make sure the materials were separated properly. However, he noted that Cornerstone’s employees have responded well so far to the group’s efforts.
The students will be working on a cost-efficient model to present to Cornerstone as an incentive for them to recycle, Feng said, adding that they understand money and publicity tend to be the driving forces for most business’ decisions.
“It’s not terrible if they do it for the wrong reasons,” Feng said. “If it’s going to cut their profit margins, I understand why they weren’t going to [recycle]. Not all businesses can do what’s best for the planet.”
Feng, who conducted similar studies for on-campus waste in Van Munching Hall last semester, said she decided to target off-campus bars because of the amount of recyclable materials they deal with on a daily basis.
Before beginning their research, the students met with City Council members to discuss passing a recycling mandate in the city, but decided it would not be practical, cost-efficient or easy to enforce, Feng said.
Loya said another suggestion they had discussed was advocating for the city to begin an initiative similar to that of Montgomery County, which requires all restaurants and bars to recycle, but nothing has been done to move toward that goal yet.
The group’s efforts were recognized by Ernst and Young – a company that supports entrepreneurship efforts – who awarded the group $250 for their proposal of the waste stream analysis earlier this year.
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