Some tips for keeping your bar “green”

The things we do can have a great impact on the health of the overall environment and even your bar can employ certain strategies for staying “green” and as environmentally friendly as possible.

• When you head out to your favorite liquor store, you may want to have done some previous due diligence with regard to what manufacturers are trying to stay “green” There are those manufacturers of fine liquors and spirits who use environmentally conscious practices from using certain environmentally friendly elements to using recycled glass and containers for their products.
• When putting your bar into play and entertaining family and friends, try and avoid plasticware and paper products. Use coasters and get regular towels and linen napkins for your serving. Also, use regular bar glasses that can be washed and reused. You can, also, get swizzle sticks and straws made of reusable stainless steel rather than the more prominent plastic versions.
• Perhaps the most obvious habit to get into is recycling your cans and bottles. Behind the bar you can set up a couple of separate recycling bins for the bottles and cans. There are those bottles, of course, especially certain wine bottles, that are unique and wonderful in design. Keep them and use them as candle holders. It can create quite a unique ambiance when they are set out and enjoyed.
• You can buy fresh when looking for your mixing ingredients and your fruits. By fresh lemons rather than a plastic lemon juice container and haunt the local farmer’s markets for those hidden discoveries. Keeping it fresh and local is great for both the environment and for the local economy.
• Again, with regard to ambiance, you have an advantage of using less electricity by dimming or eliminating your lights at the bar. Employ those great bottles and candles and use dimmer switches. You will save on electricity and add an air of the romantic and mysterious to your bar setting.