Personal Project: Barriers to Recycling at Little Tibet

The greening of Anyetsang's Little Tibet continues...

Before being able to move forward in developing a recycling program at the restaurant, it was essential to first identify the specific factors that are the main deterrents to recycling at the restaurant. Below is a summary of what I found to be the primary barriers, assembled from my personal observations, as well as from direct communication with the owners.

Barriers to Recycling at Little Tibet

1) Funding ($$$)

• The financial situation at Little Tibet is like that of many small businesses (especially small, family-owned restaurants) in that money is tight.
• The owners are unwilling to pay any extra for recycling (recycling pick up is usually $40-$50 per pick-up), and when I suggested that there might be a way to find funding from somewhere else in the existing budget, I was informed that there actually isn't an official budget for the restaurant (This is an entirely different problem in and of itself! I honestly don't know how a business can NOT have a written, planned budget and still make money!) 
• So, working without any funding from the restaurant is a huge barrier, however, it is not impossible to overcome. Suggestions that I put forth for alternative funding include the following two options:

                          1) Restaurant Sustainability Fund: Have a collection jar near the front door to collect donations towards a fund that could be used to support sustainable operations, including recycling pick-up costs. (Note: The owner's were receptive to this idea, but it seems unlikely to be a feasible option for financing the entire cost of recycling pick-up).
                          2) Small Business Grants: Apply for a small business grant to obtain funding for a recycling program. (Note: there are many grants available for recycling in other states such as this one in Colorado, however, in the past several years Gov. Daniels has effectively eliminated such grant opportunities in Indiana; I was unable to find any grants that would be applicable to this project).

2) Space

Representative kitchen space

• The kitchen is VERY tiny, with no extra floor or wall space for a recycling bin to be placed. I wish that I could post photos of the kitchen to clearly show how crowded it is, but unfortunately, the owner did not agree to photos being taken of the kitchen ("Secret recipes!" was his reasoning behind this?) Anyways, the photo to the right is a depiction of a fairly similar kitchen set up. However, at Little Tibet there is even less space between the stoves and the washing area because there is a rack that holds all of the serving plates, rice pots, etc... In fact, the trash can in the kitchen at the restaurant is in the middle of the walkway between the rack and dish washing area simply because there is no other space for it (this makes it a bit hazardous during the busy dinner rush!)

3) Convenience

• If recycling is going to happen, it HAS to be convenient for the waitstaff and other employees. This means that we must find a way to have recycling bins inside and easily accessible for employees to deposit recyclables in, otherwise they will continue to use the trash cans.

4) Attitude 

• The owner is not against recycling per se, but he is very set in his ways. Whenever I make suggestions regarding the restaurant, whether it be about the setup, flow, recycling etc... the owner is very resistant to hearing me out. However, I have found that by incrementally bringing up topics and speaking about them over a long period of time, he is typically more receptive!
• The waitstaff also is not against recycling, we simply have never had a system before, which is why they currently throw recyclables in the trash cans.