Basil Tree’s Earth Friendly Practices
Basil Tree Catering is working on many levels to reduce waste and work towards environmental sustainability. Unfortunately drop-off catering uses a lot of disposable paper goods but we are working towards reducing this waste and making changes throughout our operations. Below are some of the changes we have made. As always, we are open to suggestions on how to do an even better job at protecting our environment.
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Get “Crunchy Granola” when you use our Basil Bin to save platters, bowls, lids, serving utensils for re-use.
You do not need to wash anything, just scrape the bowls and platters and leave them in the bin. We sterilize and reuse them so there is less waste. We drop off the bin with your delivery and pick it up a day or two after your delivery.
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We are very excited to participate in the Sustainable Business Leader Program, a great organization in Boston which helps local businesses become more sustainable. The SBLP has helped over 90 businesses in the Boston area to be come more energy efficient, help conserve water and reduce waste. We look forward to their assessments and suggestions and will be proud to be certified by their organization. If you are interested in getting involved, you can check out their website, www.sustainablebusinessleader.org
- 100% of our paper goods are now earth friendly
- Plates are made from sugar cane waste
- Cutlery, clear cups and clear containers are made from corn products purchased from a non-profit supporting environmental sustainability http://www.worldcentric.org/
- Napkins are from 100% recycled paper (60% post consumer)
- Coffee cups are lined with vegetable product and are compostable. Purchased from a non-profit that employs and provides services for the visually impaired. http://clovernook.org/
- We have switched over our lighting to florescent bulbs
- Collect all kitchen compostables to be picked up by Save that Stuff http://www.savethatstuff.com/ to be shipped to farms to be made into fertilizer for local landscapers. We cut our garbage production by more than half.
- Our cooking oil is recycled into bio-fuel
- We combine delivery trips and use smaller vans whenever possible
- Use staple-less staplers; no wasted staples and paper in the recycle bins is “cleaner”
- We work with Somerville Local First, an organization which supports locally owned businesses and strives for sustainability and environmental responsibility. http://www.somervillelocalfirst.org
- Supporting local environmental initiatives with donations:
- We are working with our suppliers to increase our use of local products and organic products
