Eco-Friendly Dining Option

You never know when an opportunity to spread green consciousness will present itself.

At the end of my pre-birthday dinner at the Westside Tavern, I still had a meal’s-worth of pitta and humus left over.  (Yes, it is possible to have too much of a good thing.)  Wasting food, as we know, wastes all of the energy connected with it's cultivation, processing, packaging and shipping, and I wasn't about to let that happen.  As I prepared to take home my leftovers I winced in dismay. Once again, I had forgotten to bring my Glasslock food container (think Tupperware made out of glass).  Fortunately, the Tavern uses cardboard as their “doggie bag” of choice rather than recently banned Styrofoam or equally toxic styrene clamshell containers.  Yeah!  I suddenly felt less guilty.  Maybe I couldn't achieve the Zero Waste outcome I had hoped for, but the cardboard containers were a definite improvement over non-recyclable plastic. Unable to control my glee, I decided to share my thoughts with Alice, our waitress.  Knowing that this was the height of the dinner hour and Alice was pretty busy, I expected a perfunctory nod, maybe even some suppressed eye-rolling, as I kept her from her waitress-ly duties while I expressed my appreciation for the cardboard containers . Imagine my surprise when Alice practically high-fived me with her own environmental enthusiasm. She even shared an anecdote about her days at The Counter in Santa Monica where the paper napkins and throw-away plastic forks were too much for one patron to stomach.  The obviously eco-conscious diner brought her own reusable fork, knife spoon and cloth napkin!  Now that’s commitment!

My point is this: Don’t be shy about sharing your eco-activism. You never know when your comments will encourage others and keep the “green fire” alive. Also, let your local businesses know that you appreciate their extra efforts to care for our planet.  Your comments make a difference.