Friday

Two Indiana Businesses Collaborate on Green Initiative in Catering

The state of Indiana now has its first Orca Green composting machine. 

The innovative device, which turns food waste and compostable food service materials into nutrient-rich water in just 24-hours, is in use at the headquarters of Indianapolis’ top catering business. Kahn's Catering.  Joe Husar of Kahn's and Bob Bedell of Green Smart Food Services are pictured with the Orca to the right.

As the U.S.-made composting machine turns organic waste (food scraps, compostable plates, bowls, cups, etc.) into water, it reduces the environmental impact the user has on local landfills and saving on waste hauling costs.

Indianapolis’ Kahn’s Catering is dedicated to providing its customers with more eco-friendly and environmentally responsible special events and the Orca helps the business reach those goals. Joe Husar of Kahn’s expects to eliminate 300,000 pounds of waste within the first year of use that would have gone into local landfills and reduce his waste-hauling costs by close to $10,000.

There are only a dozen Orca Green machines currently installed in the United States. Internationally about 7,000 machines are in operation.  

The Orca Green offers a new way for businesses with larger food service operations (caterers, restaurants, hospitals, visitor attractions, schools, universities, et. al.) to go green and reduce their impact on the environment. 

Indianapolis' first -- in fact, Indiana's first -- Orca Green is located in Kahn's facilities at Montage at Allison Pointe, 8580 Allison Pointe Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46250. If you would like to think about an Orca for your business, get in touch with us for a personal demonstration. 

Green Smart Food Services is a unique provider to the food service industry focused on environmentally sound solutions for their customers. We provide an on-site, 24-hour composting machine – the Orca Green – to food service operations which handles all their food scrap and waste, reducing their trash haul costs and landfill overload. We also offer compostable and recycled alternatives to paper, plastic and Styrofoam™ disposable products which are clogging landfills. All of us at GSFS believe that facilities and their caterers understand that they have a responsibility to minimize negative impact on the environment and their end users – attendees, exhibitors, fans, audiences, students, faculty and employees – appreciate being part of the green movement.

Kahn’s Catering offers upscale gourmet catering and service throughout the Indianapolis metropolitan area at homes, places of business or at exclusive locations including Montage at Allison Pointe, the Eiteljorg Museum, the FORUM Conference Center and the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The company also operates the Vine & Table gourmet market. 

Monday

Orca Green Composting Machine Helps Match Caterer and Customer


A green-focused catering company joining forces with a plant science center? You could call it a match made in environmentally responsible heaven -- right here in St. Louis.

St. Louis' Butler's Pantry -- one of the Gateway City's top catering operations -- has experienced a wave of positive publicity since installing the area's first Orca Green composting machine in its headquarters.
Television stations, newspapers and online outlets all have covered the story of Green Smart Food Services' exclusive Orca Green machine saving the catering company in waste hauling costs and saving space in local landfills.

Now comes the news that the prestigious Donald Danforth Plant Sciences Center in St. Louis has named Butler's Pantry as its new caterer.

The St. Louis Business Journal reports that the Danforth Center interviewed a variety of caterers, but chose to partner with Butler's Pantry "because of its commitment to using Missouri farmers and environmentally friendly practices, including the Orca Green composting machine."

We wish the happy couple many years of turning waste into nutrient-rich water together.
Curious what the Orca Green can do for you and your business? Let's talk.

Saturday

Green Hotels: You need an Orca Green Composting Machine


You care about environmental issues whether you're home or on the road. But did you ever wonder if there is an easy way to find a green hotel when you're traveling?

One answer has emerged with lists of hotels all over the world that follow environmentally responsible policies. It's called Green Hotel Finder.

As of today, the site has information on more than 2,000 hotels in the United States that have green certifications and practices.

Hotel operators who would like their property to take the ultimate step toward handling in-house food waste from their catering and dining activities should investigate the Orca Green Composting Machine.

The Orca Green takes food waste and turns it into a liquid that can drain safely into the sewer system. It can save landfill space and will reduce waste hauling costs for hotels and other users.

Contact Green Smart Food Services for more information on how the Orca Green can help your hotel go green.

Thursday

Television News Coverage of the Orca Green in St. Louis

KTVI-TV has covered the Orca Green installation at the Butler's Pantry catering company in St. Louis. Watch as their trash turns to water, saving landfill space and waste-hauling costs.

 

Tuesday

Orca Green Composting Machine is in the News

The news media in St. Louis have taken note of Green Smart Food Service's arrival in the Gateway City.

What generated the interest? Our Orca Green composting machine is now turning waste into water at the area's exclusive Butler's Pantry catering company. Butler's Pantry is the first food-related business in St. Louis to install an Orca Green.

Already, in the early days of operation, the Orca Green has eliminated more than 3,200 pounds of food waste, allowing Butler's Pantry to both cut their trash hauling costs and make their customers happy with more environmentally sustainable events.

Here's s link to coverage in the St. Louis Business Journal.

And here's a link to the St. Louis Globe Democrat's story on our Orca Green.

Watch the Orca Green Composting Machine in Action

Celebrating 40 Years: Earth Day 2010

What are you doing to mark the 40th anniversary of
Earth Day this month?

The worldwide celebration calls attention to the environment and issues that affect us all.

Here's a link to the official Earth Day site. You can find local events, learn more about the Earth Day organization's core issues, or find ways to take action in your own community.

Here at Green Smart Food Services, we're installing an Orca Green composting machine in St. Louis at a very busy catering operation called Butler's Pantry during Earth Day week.

The owners of Butler's Pantry are committed to operating in an environmentally responsible manner and the Orca Green is providing a solution to their food waste and trash hauling problems, saving time, money, fuel...and the environment at the same time.

Butler's Pantry's impact on local landfills will be greatly reduced and their customers will be pleased to know that they've made a responsible catering choice.

Want to know more about the Orca Green composting machine and how it can make every day Earth Day at your business? Contact us. We'll be happy to tell you more.

Thursday

Warm Up With Compostable Bowls


Soup. Just the thought makes you feel nice and warm, doesn't it?

This picture may look like a simple soup bowl. But at Green Smart Food Services we know it's really part of a complete solution to turning the food service at your next meeting, convention or event --or even your entire venue --green.

We can give you the tools to help you and your customers make environmentally responsible choices.

For use along with the amazing ORCA green machine, we provide compostable bowls, plates and containers in a variety of shapes and sizes.

These versatile soup bowls are manufactured from sustainable resources. They're biodegradable, recyclable and compostable as well as being microwave and freezer safe and oil and cut resistant. All important traits in your food service bowls.

Our soup bowls also are impermeable and non-toxic. How many things in your life can make that claim?

Available in 12 and 16 oz. sizes (lids available).

Contact the Green Smart Food Services team for details.

Wednesday

Your Convention, Meeting or Tradeshow Can Go Green

Green Smart Food Services works with convention centers, caterers and meeting planners to help them make their events earth friendly.

In addition to supplying compostable utensils, plates, bowls, cold cups, hot cups and trash bags, we also supply 100% recycled napkins and thermal coffee sleeves.

At the end of the event -- instead of hundreds or thousands of pounds of trash going to a local landfill -- much of it can go to a compost facility or into an ORCA Green machine at the venue.

Going green can actually pay dividends above the environmental ones. Many of our Green Smart Food Services products can be branded by sponsors, providing groups with income to help cover many of the costs of going green.

Ask us how to go green for less in 2010.

Tuesday

Top Nine Reasons to Consider an Orca Green

Why should you consider adding an Orca Green to your business? This amazing composting machine will:

  • Reduces dumpster and hauling costs
  • Provides a nutrient rich compost tea, reducing fertilizer expenses for grounds
  • Reduces fuel emissions during hauling
  • Reduces food waste impact on landfills
  • Eliminates methane gas byproduct of food waste decomposition
  • Provides a safer more sanitary work environment
  • Reduces insect and rodent problems
  • Handles all disposable plates, cups, and cutlery made from renewable resources
  • Silent and odor free

Introducing the Orca Green Machine

Green Smart Food Services is committed to finding practical solutions to preserve and protect our natural resources. We feel a strong responsibility to reduce our current footprint on the Earth.

We are an exclusive distributor of the Orca Green™ line of commercialized bioreactors, a groundbreaking technology that reduces organic waste to water in 24 hours.

Today, there is finally a technology that actually goes beyond zero waste. The water produced from everyday common organic waste can be used in irrigation applications, cleaned further for potability or similarly returned to the ecosystem through septic systems and sewers.