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Shedd Aquarium worked with restaurants and the food service industry to make a measurable reduction in litter and marine debris from single-use items in Chicago communities.
Type of Project: Prevention
Region: Great Lakes
Project Dates: September 2020 - August 2023
Who was involved?
With support from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, Shedd Aquarium worked with restaurants and the food service industry to make a measurable reduction in litter and marine debris from single-use in Chicago communities. Through capacity building, educational resources, and dedicated training, Shedd Aquarium assisted businesses with changing their practices and developed a certification program for participating businesses.
What was the project and why is it important?
From 20 years of data involving over 14,000 Great Lakes beach cleanups led through Alliance for the Great Lakes, the top ten litter items from this data included many single-use plastics related to food consumption, such as wrappers, bottles, stirrers, bags, cups, plates, and cutlery.
To stem the flow of waste from the culinary industry, Shedd Aquarium worked with restaurants throughout the greater Chicago area to build the capacity and skills needed to measurably and voluntarily reduce single-use items in their operations. Over three years, Shedd Aquarium developed and launched a tiered certification program and worked hand-in-hand with the businesses to achieve this goal. Through educational resources and hands-on training, Shedd used the model of educating staff who could then inform their customers, which has been used with great success in the region in the past.
What were the results?
The team exceeded its goal number of restaurants recruited to join the campaign, with a total of 165 restaurants enrolled. Participating businesses were provided with educational resources and engagement opportunities that supported them in reducing single-use items in their operations. The team also exceeded their public engagement goal by connecting with nearly 3,100 people at various environmental and community events. Through these interactions, people learned about the problem of marine debris in their local waterways and were encouraged to choose reusable products and better understand their waste systems. This project led to a reduction of 13,280 single-use items.
For more information about this project, visit the Marine Debris Program Clearinghouse.