Give out this one-page handout on reducing plastic to your favorite restaurants, cafes, and bars. If you want extra credit, you can offer to conduct a plastic audit for the establishment using the audit template on page 13 of Hold the Plastic Please, A Restaurant’s Guide to Reducing Plastic.

As sites where people gather, dine, and enjoy the comfort and satisfaction of food, restaurants have a strong and positive position in the public mind. People remember what occurs there, and they remember the details and contentment associated with the food. As such, restaurants can serve as role models.

In addition, the enormous purchasing power of the food service industry stands to influence the decisions of foodware and packaging manufacturers. By ordering more sustainable products, dining establishments transmit a strong market signal that reusable and biodegradable items are the consumer preference. Suppliers change their offerings, and the market itself may shift to a more sustainable model.