can we all think like this, please?

I really respect Jay Porter of the Linkery. I don't know of any restaurateur who is as wholly determined to do things the right way. By right, of course, I mean consciously and ethically, mindful of consequences and causes. Since opening the Linkery, Jay has proven that things shouldn't be taken for granted--that meat doesn't have to be purchased from mega-distributors and that produce doesn't have to be trucked in from afar, that there are food products produced by people who care and that often these products are far superior to what we've been taught to think is delicious. His efforts are genuine and transparent, and there are many things he does that I admire.

That said, I was blown away when I came across this blog post on the Linkery blog This post has nothing to do with producers or purveyors--two topics which I scour the Linkery blog for often. It does have to do with eating, though, and is so sensible I felt like smacking myself in the head after reading it. I quote:

"Starting this weekend, we’re going to pack all our to-go orders in heavier, dishwasher-safe, reusable plastic boxes. These containers cost us about a buck each, and for each container in a takeout order we’ll charge a buck. If you like the container and want to use it at home, great. But if you don’t want it, just bring it back to us at any time and we’ll give you your buck back."

Can everyone just take a moment to muse over how brilliant this system is? And then another moment to ask why all restaurants, everywhere, haven't been doing this for decades? Well, I can answer that second one, but won't waste the space here to do it. Instead I'll take a moment to imagine just how many styrofoam boxes, tin trays, wax paper wrappers, and dare I say disposable coffee cups would be saved from landfills each year if just one franchised operation adopted this policy.

The first thing that popped into my head while reading this was coffee (it was the morning, and I hadn't had any)--the sheer popularity of Starbucks makes me cringe in this department. But if Starbucks adopted a similar idea--if you had to pay a dollar extra each time you neglected to bring a reusable coffee mug? I'll dream of the day.

Until then, I'll be very happy to visit the Linkery again very soon.