Being Green At The Coffee Shop: It’s Not Easy Being Green
Posted by carrie_roll
This post is just a little gift for Carrie.
Carrie works part-time at a coffee shop, and enjoys working there, for the customers she meets, and it just gives her an opportunity to spend time away from the projects she works on on a day-to-day basis
She’s always working to help the coffee shop save money, and the environment, by doing little things. She does this at the coffee shop as well as at home.
For example, at the beginning of the day, the coffee shop has to take hot water and fill the large canisters that hold the coffee, so that they’re hot when the coffee gets brewed into them (so that the coffee doesn’t cool down when it’s put into these canisters).
She made the suggestion that the coffee shop could both save money, and water, by using this clean, hot water, to fill the sinks at the beginning of the day, instead of just pouring it down the drain. The hot water could then be there to be used for the dishes that accumulate from customers over the first few hours of the morning, when they leave the dishes in the sink anyway (not having a chance to get to the dishes because of the morning rush). This would save two sinkfulls of hot water every day that the coffee shop is open.
This coffee shop is open 360 days/year. There are two sides to the sink. 8 gallons/side of the sink = 16 gallons/day = 5,760 gallons of hot water that didn’t have to get heated, or used, in a year’s time. This would save the coffee shop about $50/year in water cost. I don’t know what it would save the shop in electric cost (for heating the water,) but it’s probably close to $30-$40.
That’s not a lot of money, but for a coffee shop that isn’t a Starbuck’s, but has to compete with Starbuck’s, these small cost-saving measures could make all the difference, particularly in a difficult economy where people try to cut out things like coffee.
Carrie made this suggestion, and has made many others, for little things that can be done to help the coffee shop both save money and help the environment.
Usually, it’s met with comments like “You’re such a Greenie!” and “Treehugger!” (If they mean these as insults, they might be surprised to know she takes them as compliments.)
Anyway, Carrie, this video is for you, and for anyone like you, who works to make changes at their coffee shop, or other place of business.
(It’s Not Easy Bein’ Green – Kermit The Frog)
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Ahh, thanks Jonathan! But it IS easy being green. And it is the little things that can make the biggest difference over time (especially if everybody did them).