PCPA's composting program expands out of the kitchen
The Portland Center for the Performing Arts is taking its composting out of the kitchen and into its administrative offices. Operated by Metro, PCPA encompasses the region's premier performing art venues including the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Antoinette Hatfield Hall and Keller Auditorium. It also manages the ArtBar & Bistro restaurant at PCPA.
About two years ago, ArtBar & Bistro's sous chef, Cecilia Josi, started a composting program for PCPA restaurants and catering events. She described it as "joining in on the fun" of helping the environment.
According to Josi, the ArtBar fills up about one 64-gallon composting barrel every three weeks, and during larger catering events, it fills up two barrels on average. The restaurant's composting program not only helps the environment, it also helps PCPA's operating budget. The program reduces the amount of trash, which cuts down on the frequency of garbage pick-ups.
The success of the restaurant and catering department's composting quest has allowed PCPA to expand the program to its administrative offices. Blue recycle bins with bio-degradable liners have been placed in office kitchens and the break room as well as the box office which is housed in the PCPA building. Bins will also soon appear in the backstage areas at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
Did you know 75 percent of the landfill waste in the country comes from businesses? Did you know one third of that waste is compostable? Metro provides helpful information for businesses about recycling, and composting as well as how to cut down on food waste while helping fight hunger with the Fork It Over! food donation program.