You care about your planet, its future and your impact on it. That's why you recycle, try to eat organic, local foods and turn off lights and appliances when you aren't using them. But what about the businesses you frequent? If they aren't recycling, then you aren't either. How do you know and what can you do?
First, read their menu and look around the bar or restaurant. Are there recycling signs or mention of how they're handling their waste? If so and they are recycling, that's great, but if not, why no ask them about it? This can be awkward, but there's nothing wrong with requesting to speak with a manager and simply asking them if they have a recycling program. If they ask you why, you can just say you're a concerned citizen, doing what you can to be ecologically responsible and you want the businesses you frequent to do the same. If they don't recycle, ask them why not and if they'd be willing to give it a go.
You can make it easy for businesses to want to recycle by doing your homework first. Some cities require every business to recycle by law. New York does. In New York that means bars and restaurants have to recycle bottles, cans, cardboard and a large list of other products. Look at your city's ".gov" Web Site and see what the laws and requirements are. If recycling isn't required-and it probably isn't-try Earth 911's great recycling search to see who provides good local recycling services for businesses. When your favorite bar or restaurant manager tells you they don't recycle, that they don't know how, don't have the resources, or don't care, explain to them how relatively easy it is and where they can do it.
The days of crazy, left-wing do-gooder environmentalist stereotypes are over. Bars and restaurants care about their contribution to environmental efforts, if not for their planet and communities, certainly for the good PR it creates. You don't have to threaten or launch a campaign, (but hey, if that's your thing) but saying something and doing something is a huge start and if you can convince one bar or restaurant to begin recycling, with their huge volumes of daily waste, you've made a big impact indeed.
