San Rafael Restaurant is Saving Green by Going Green

For the next six months, The City of San Rafael will be recognizing outstanding San Rafael businesses that are making tremendous progress in reducing waste and increasing recycling with our Waste-Wise Business Spotlight. West Brooklyn Pizza is our Waste-Wise business for March!

West Brooklyn Pizza has been serving San Rafael from their Andersen Avenue location for over 30 years. The restaurant has always recycled, but owner Renato Fusari still felt bad about the food scraps they had to throw away. “It’s just me…I hate waste,” he says. Participating in Marin Sanitary Services’ Food 2 Energy program has allowed Brooklyn Pizza to reduce their garbage service by 50% and save $279 per month on disposal fees. Marin Sanitary Service brought in additional containers and trained Brooklyn Pizza’s staff. Now, in addition to recycling bottles and cans like they’ve always done, Brooklyn Pizza is also recycling paper and cardboard, and collecting food scraps.

Renato is quick to say that what he loves most about the F2E program are the savings and that he is making a positive contribution to the world. To his surprise, everyone got used to the new routine quickly and there was no significant difference in cleanup time. To help streamline the process, food scraps containers were placed by the prep station as well as where dirty dishes are collected. His advice for other business owners is to “be more receptive to new ideas…and try to see the bigger plan. Little acts lead to a big contribution.”

More information here: http://www.cityofsanrafael.org/waste-wise