BarFly Ventures Diverts Up To 90% of Waste From Landfills, Setting Example for Restaurants in Midwest

BarFly Ventures, the parent company of HopCat, Stella’s Lounge and Grand Rapids Brewing Co., was founded by Mark Sellers in 2008 after the opening of HopCat in Grand Rapids. It prides itself on being a different kind of restaurant/bar company, including recycling and composting up to 90 percent of the waste it generates.

Visitors to BarFly properties will be struck by the visible compost and recycling bins stationed all around the restaurants, including in the kitchen, at the dishwashing stations, behind hostess stands and at the bar to ensure the highest level of compostable material possible is diverted from landfills. New-hire procedures include waste sorting training, and managers and employees are responsible for holding each other accountable to correctly dispose of waste throughout the shift. As a backup measure, and as part of training, the compost, recycling and trash bins are sorted through to check for rush-hour mix ups. In addition to food scraps, almost all single use items at Barfly locations are compostable, including their to-go boxes, napkins, straws and even compost bag liners.

BarFly works with a number of area partners on the composting process. Hammond Farms, located primarily in the Lansing area, picks up compost weekly to utilize on the farm as fertilizer. Cocoa, located in Holland, is another trusted partner who in turn distributes the restaurant compost to local farms. Maintaining personal relationships with composters is important to Barfly and a key to keeping operations running smoothly, according to sustainability and philanthropy manager Carrie Veldman, who encourages waste haulers to contact her with any issues with waste stream contamination.

“Having a relationship with recycling and composting vendors allows locations to stay accountable and provides efficient channels of communication,” Veldman said. “This makes adapting waste sorting practices and procedures much easier.”

Stella’s Lounge in Grand Rapids was recognized as the 2020 Great Lakes Regional Award Winner from the EPA Food Recovery Challenge

Barfly locations, such as Grand Rapids Hopcat, are also actively working on reducing waste upstream by partnering with supply chain managers to reduce the amount of packaging sent to Barfly locations.

Veldman says BarFly wants to “look down our supply chain to reduce packaging waste from suppliers which would tackle eliminating almost all of our pre-consumer landfill waste.”

On their employee  Entrepreneurial Operating System, managers take notes after every shift about any issues  regarding sustainability and waste stream issues. BarFly managers also have the opportunity to use an app to audit waste streams monthly, looking for places where there might be room for improvement. They monitor each site by taking pictures monthly and going over problems with the process. And a volunteer team works to make every BarFly location GROW (Green, Responsible, community Outreach and employee Wellness).

In addition to the concrete steps it is taking to reduce operational waste, BarFly also is proud of its efforts to educate its staff about reducing environmental impacts, including giving employees sustainability strategies that they can adopt in their own lives, something they love to see other restaurants emulate.

“Even one restaurant doing these [waste diversion] practices in a town, the more it spreads,” said Veldman.

Stella’s Lounge in Grand Rapids was recognized as the 2020 Great Lakes Regional Award Winner from the EPA Food Recovery Challenge.

BarFly Ventures focuses their sustainability efforts on Community, Soil and Food, Water, Energy, and Resource Recycling.  With over 20 stores in 17 cities, BarFly is truly dedicated to giving back to their community, their employees, and to the environment.  Learn more and view BarFly’s Annual Sustainability Report at https://www.barflyventures.com/sustainability.