Recycling for All the Right Returns

The National Restaurant Association, with support from Georgia-Pacific Professional, conducted surveys to identify current recycling practices of restaurants as well as consumer demands and perceptions as they relate to restaurants’ recycling practices.

The research was conducted in March and April 2011 with a nationally representative sample of consumers and a nationwide sample of restaurant owners and operators.

Findings determined that 65 percent of restaurant operators embrace the practice of recycling and have recycling programs in place at their restaurants. Also, 60 percent of consumers prefer to patronize restaurants that recycle, and 51 percent of consumers indicate that they are willing to pay more at restaurants that recycle.