Clean Water Fund

Surveys were conducted with 95 café owners and 461 customers across San Francisco that sell to-go beverages in disposable cups. The goal of the survey was to determine what current practices and behaviors businesses utilize to incentivize BYO behavior, current consumer habits and reasons, and opinions on future options.

The owner of Cybelle’s Pizza on Bush Street has been historically challenged to implement reusable food service ware in his fast paced restaurant. 50% of his business caters to delivery and customers grabbing a quick slice to go. Even faced with these challenges, the results of this program showed a significant drop in disposables.

The owners of Lola's Chicken Shack were able to significantly minimize disposable foodware for their high schooler lunch clientele by replacing large to-go boxes with a smaller food tray, eliminating disposable lids, and educational signage. These simple changes save $1,458 and 573 lbs of waste annually!

Francisco Hernández, propietario: “De cualquier manera que lo mire uno, el programa ReConsidera Desechable es beneficioso para todos.”

“I think it has been a success and will go a long way towards reducing landfill waste and show alternatives to disposables not only to the adults but as well as the kids who go to school here.” - Chef Todd Morales

Fernando, the owner of El Metate, worried about potential loss of easy to throw away items. After making the switch to reusable cutlery and portion cups with bus tubs and racks helping to reduce product loss, the elevated experience resulted in more dine-in customers and an annual cost savings of nearly $9,000.