Much like the digital divide, there is also a “water divide” in India. On one side there are thousands of people dying of thirst because they don’t have access to clean drinking water, every year. On the other, much to the contrary, people are wasting millions of liters of clean drinking water every year. Just imagine the number of lives that would be saved if this wasted water was given to those in need. It would save lives. This, of course, is a mammoth task that you and I can’t do. However, what we can do, is not wastewater. Act For Water is about altering your daily practices to make them more conservationist. In this article, I will be talking about saving water in restaurants and 5 easy ways this can happen.
1. Stop filling glasses!
Did you know that 14 million liters of water are wasted every year just from the water left in glasses at restaurants? Yeah – 14 million. The solution is to only fill the glasses when guests ask for it. Simple. This way, water is not wasted. In a country where people are dying because they don’t have water, the very least we could do is this.
2. Use eco-friendly dishwashers
Dishwashers account for the highest waste of energy and water in restaurants. Hence, restaurants should upgrade their dishwashers to those that use less water and energy. Regular dishwashers waste up to 27 gallons (102 liters) of water per load. However, energy-efficient dishwashers waste as little as 3 gallons (11 liters) per load. While this number is still high, it is much less compared to a regular dishwasher.
3. Cleaning of dishes
While it may be easier, and more time-efficient, to clean dishes using water, it wastes water. Wherever possible, scrapers must be used to remove the dry food before loading the dishes into the dishwasher. While this may seem meaningless, it saves water and must be done in restaurants.
4. Use low-flow faucets
The food industry is very water-intensive. From washing hands regularly to rinsing dishes, a typical restaurant wastes 5000 gallons (19,000 liters) of water every day. This is an alarmingly high number and it is obvious that something must be done. The faucets in restaurants should have a low flow. Through this, whenever the tap is turned on, less water will flow out. Installing motion sensors in taps will also save water in restaurants.
5. Use smaller glasses
Yes – it’s that simple. If the glass on the table is small, guests will pour less water. Hence, they are more likely to finish it and less will be wasted.
The problem of water wastage in restaurants is large but the solutions are very easy. If this is implemented in all restaurants, millions of liters of water will be saved every day. Educate yourself and others about this issue to fight against the looming water crisis.
