recycling (reusing) and work

i work at a cafe & banquet hall and i notice how much food, napkins, and water is wasted every time i work. it's not because the cafe is wasteful, but because cleanliness is a huge issue. every time we pass hors d'oeuvre we have a tray in one hand and a pile of napkins in the other hand. many people will take a napkin for every other hors d'oeuvre they have. that's a lot of napkins and they all get thrown away after. in the restaurant business, it's far better throw away a crinkled napkin, or re-wash a dish if it eliminates the possibility of germs or anything that might not be clean.

although a lot is wasted, i've also begun to see things the cafe does to recycle. for example we always use two table clothes per table for banquets. this makes them look nicer and protects the wooden tables from spills. when we strip the tables after the party, we inspect the top clothes to see how dirty they are. if they are, for the most part, clean, we save them. when we use them again, we put them as the bottom cloth (and put a new one on top). this way, water and money is saved washing clothes that aren't necessarily dirty. we have also started saving cloth napkins that aren't really dirty. we use these to cover trays we use when we clear away trash or empty glasses, or to carry out pans of food when they're hot. in addition, we always recycle glass bottles and use loose-leaf tea with reusable strainers and pots.

although i still see a lot of waste, i also see a lot of ways to reuse.