Working to Tread More Lightly on Our Planet
Like many small businesses today, we’re constantly looking for ways to reduce our impact on the environment. This process didn’t begin suddenly; it has taken place in incremental steps going back many years. From the day we opened, the spent grain and hops from our brewery have been picked up by a local farmer to be used as animal feed. Over fifteen years ago, we joined with our next door neighbors at the Portsmouth Gaslight Company to recycle the metal, glass, plastic and cardboard that both restaurants produce.
Wherever possible we’ve eliminated plastic by switching to compostable takeout containers, straws and disposable utensils. At the same time, we have looked for other ways, large and small, to reduce our consumption of gas, electricity and water: installing programmable thermostats, replacing incandescent bulbs with LED’s, upgrading our kitchen lighting, putting a low flow nozzle in our dish pit. All those little things add up, and they’ve saved us lots of money, too!
Sourcing out local food suppliers and supporting local farmers is another way we’re both shrinking our footprint and supporting our local economy. More recently, we’ve dramatically reduced our solid waste stream, working with Mr. Fox Composting, a locally owned and operated company, to separate out compostable waste, which is sent to local farms where it eventually becomes fertilizer for some of the very same produce we purchase from them.
What We Compost
- All food scraps, including bones, shells, pits, fruit, seafood
- Used napkins
- Paper towels – soiled & unsoiled
- Wax paper
- Compostable straws
- To-go containers & compostable implements
- Tea bags
- Milk & juice cartons
- Compostable kiddie cups
- Corks
- Coffee grounds & filters
- Sugar packets
- Pizza boxes
- Wooden toothpicks
- Flowers
- Paper ice cream cartons
What is Used for Farm Animal Feed
Spent malt & hops from brewing process
What We Recycle
- Thermal paper
- Office paper
- Worn-out coasters
- Newsprint
- Wrapping paper
- Cardboard
- All glass
- All metal
- All non-compostable plastic
- Fryolator oil
Trash (Not compostable or recyclable)
- Disposable gloves
- China
- Foil of any kind
- Waxed cardboard
- Crayons
- Cellophane
- Fabric
- Non-recyclable plastic