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Birdbath - Build A Green Bakery
buildagreenbakery.com
223 1st Avenue
New York, NY 10003
Phone: 646.722.6565
birdbath@thecitybakery.com

This Green Business is a project of The City Bakery. They built a modest-sized storefront out of sustainable, renewable, biodegradable, recycled, recyclable, vintage and found materials. The floor is cork. The walls are made from wheat - just like the baked goods. The paint is milk protein, the table is bamboo and recycled denim. The wallpaper uses recycled polyester. The light fixtures are vintage, with energy efficient bulbs. Stains and sealers are all water-based. The counter staff wear a custom jacket made from hemp and natural linen. They found the cash register in the basement, it was made in 1936.

Additionally, The City Bakery and Build a Green Bakery separate their refuse into general trash, recyclable materials and food waste at the bakeries. Action Environmental Carting collects between 200 and 250 lb. a day of compostable materials from both locations. After two years of composting activities offsite, the bakeries have noticed a beneficial impact on their businesses, according to manager Sara Weeks. She said: "The cost of trash pick-up is less for organic waste than for general waste, thus overall trash pick-up costs are cheaper".

Candle Café
www.candlecafe.com
Original location
1307 Third Avenue at 75th Street
New York, New York 10021
Phone: 212.472.0970
Second location
154 East 79th Street near Lexington Avenue
New York, New York 10021
Phone: 212.537.7179

Candle Café, and its second location, Candle 79 are Upper East Side vegetarian restaurants with a commitment to sustainability. In an attempt to minimize waste that enters the environment, both locations have an active recycling and composting program. Indeed, co-owner Bart Potenza noted that Candle Café has received a number of inquiries from other New York City based restaurants about the advantages of composting specifically, and about “green” business practices in general.

When first initiated, these composting programs required a brief adjustment period for the business and the staff. This was made easier by the fact that most of the food waste in both restaurants is suitable for compost (vegetarian). Food refuse is separated out in the kitchen, and gets collected by Action Carting (contact Joe Mercenditti 973-390-2238), which also provides the collection bins. The compost is processed in New Jersey. Each location produces around 20 gallons of compost a day.

Also see our page on Composting Case Studies!