By Gus Saltonstall
A slew of Upper West Side eateries for the first time are encouraging customers to bring their own reusable water bottles when dining at their establishments.
Councilmember Shaun Abreu, along with the neighborhood nonprofit It’s Easy Being Green, recently organized multiple local stores and restaurants to take part in the environmentally friendly push.
“Promoting reusable water bottles and containers is good for business and good for our environment,” Abreu wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Don’t just take it from me — businesses across the Upper West Side are joining the movement to end plastic waste.”
The local eateries taking part have all posted a green sticker on their storefront window that reads: “Bring Your Own Container, UWS Reduces Waste.”
Here are the Upper West Side establishments involved in the reusable water bottle push.
- Metro Diner: 2641 Broadway, near West 100th Street
- Samad’s Gourmet: 2867 Broadway, near West 111th Street
- Omonia Cafe: 301 West 108th Street, on Broadway
- Super Nice Coffee & Bakery: 196 West 108th Street, near Amsterdam
- Silver Moon Bakery: 2740 Broadway, near West 105th Street
- Broadway Pizza: 2709 Broadway, near West 104th Street
- Peaky Barista: 2680 Broadway, near West 102nd Street
- Deli Grocery: 644 Amsterdam, near West 102nd Street
- Cool Fresh Juice Bar: 2662A Broadway, near West 101st Street
- Zelma’s Cafe: 2661 Broadway, near West 101st Street
- Health Nuts: 2611 Broadway, near West 99th Street
- Dunkin’: 2600 Broadway, near West 98th Street
- Peaky Barista: 667 Columbus, near West 93rd Street
- Joe & The Juice: 2466 Broadway, near West 91st Street
Abreu’s work with local restaurants follows his recently introduced bill that would allow New Yorkers to bring reusable water containers into sports venues within the five boroughs. The majority of New York City arenas and stadiums forbid fans from entering with any sort of reusable water bottle, which leads to an “unnecessary build-up of waste from plastic cups,” he previously stated.
Customers can also use their reusable containers at the eateries to fill up with coffee, tea, or other beverages.
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Uhhhh…No? Then use recyclable cups, you businesses,
If you bring your own container, then you should get a discount.
They do use recyclable cups. The problem is that only about 5% of recyclable materials are actually recycled. It’s better to avoid using single-use plastics altogether.
Yeah first thought that came to my mind was this saves the restaurant money. Are they going to cut prices? Doubt it.
That’s OK, we want restaurants to survive and thrive.
Ask the shop if they offer a discount. Plant a seed. It’s good for customers as well as the business. some of the shops on list do offer discount.
It isn’t going to save them as much money as they’ll lose in sales of beverages.
you still are paying for the beverage. What’s different is that they put it in your container.
Just a thought … when ordering a beverage in a coffee shop, don’t they serve it in a GLASS which I assume goes into a dishwasher!
Pretty Silly. Just pour customers a glass of water. Don’t sell bottled water.
Either way, someone has to wash the reusable bottle or glass after the meal.
Our effort right now is for take out coffee, tea or other drinks to be put in the customer’s reusable container so it saves stores money and reduces waste and trash. The customer takes his own thermos or mug home with them to wash and reuse over and over
We are encouraging our customers to bring their own flatware and linens, so that they can take them home and wash them themselves.
We are doing a pilot study on having them prepare own food as well.
Bringing water bottles into stadium events would be huge! They charge a fortune for bottled water. I get they don’t want people sneaking in booze, but having a free way to hydrate while you watch your event would be great
That’s a safety issue, same as airports
I think stadiums have a bigger issue with people filling the water bottles throwing them. It’s why they don’t sell you cans of beer or soda, only cups.
They don’t sell cans of beer and soda because kegs are much cheaper to fill but they can still charge you the same inflated price this increasing their profits.
This seems like a gimmick. Omonia cafe should offer real plates for people who dine in and offer paper boxes for taking cake out rather than plastic clamshells. That would really move the needle! I am singling them out because I recently requested to eat my treat on a plate instead of out of a plastic clamshell and found that none were available. I am sure others could also improve in this area.
You are right to ask for a china plate. More of us should join the eat out /speak up campaign. How else do shopkeepers know what matters to their customers? That’s solutionis based behavior.👍
This will save participating restaurants lots of money. The prices should be cut to reflect their savings.
Ask the shop if they offer a discount if you bring your reusable. Some on the list already do.
What a great idea! But let’s not stop there — how about if customers can bring their own plates, bowls, knives and forks? Why burden the restaurant with the need to heat water and buy detergent to wash the utensils?
And, hey, let’s extend it even further: Customers get to bring their own food, too!
Let’s all pitch in and Save That Environment!
What if the restaurants were to supply reusable glasses for water ? This seems so silly.
What if we’re talking about takeout?
There is a bill Choose2Reuse coming up through City council which addresses that. for now you can find the take out restaurants in our area that offer reusable containers by going to Deliverzero.com
Most of these places are mostly takeout, so a water bottle would replace a cup or a single-use bottle. My God, the disgruntlement around here.
If only people would think before commenting. I know that’s too much to ask, but we can dream.
Thank you Sarah!
BYO container UWS reduces has several benefits: reduces costs to businesses for supply of plastic cups, reduces trash on street and in cans, mitigates single use plastic pollution, and creates a mindset of plastic reduction.
Some of these shops offer price reductions. Just ask. More importantly, let’s make it a habit to carry our reusable thermos for take out coffee, tea, smoothies.
You might just feel you are part of the solution to plastic pollution. Let’s make the UWS a model for sustainable practice.
Thank you, Councilman Abreu, for spending the day with us of It’s Easy Being Green to promote our campaign BYO Containers / UWS Reduces Waste where we are currently focusing on coffee and tea shops as well as restaurants to let customers know that they can bring their own containers to fill with coffee, tea or smoothie. We believe it’s a win/win in that it will save the shop money and at the same time reduce trash and waste to keep our UWS neighborhood clean and healthy. See more about our work at http://www.itseasybeinggreen.org.
This makes no sense for restaurants. They’re already serving you water in a glass. I use my own water bottles where appropriate, which is not in a restaurant unless I just happen to be walking around with one already. Very bizarre. Love a good effort but please apply towards anything meaningful, as so many areas are truly lacking. And by all means promote personal water bottles where they are actually needed.
Yes The main effort is at coffee and tea shops where they post the BYO sticker to let customers know that they can bring their own thermos or reusable container to fill with coffee or tea or smoothie. That is what the program is about. So some of the language might have left some readers confused. Hope this clarifies it for you and others.
Makes a lot of sense for takeout.
This effort addresses take out drinks like coffee,tea and smoothies. Ask your local purveyor to let you use your reusable. A win win for the store and the neighborhood.
I think this is a good idea to help reduce the use of single use plastic. Many places, like Starbucks, won’t directly fill up your reusable container because of “sanitary reasons,” even though there is no contact between containers. If you ask a barista to use your reusable cup, they will make your drink in a take-out cup and then pour it into your reusable cup, which of course is pointless. (Not sure if this is only since Covid.) While this new initiative may not make a HUGE impact, any little bit helps. In any case, they are not saying you HAVE to bring your own bottle/cup, so I don’t understand all the complaining.
the NYC health code permits the use of reusable drink containers. they prefer that the container not touch the restaurant’s equipment. Next up: reusables for prepared foods!
Well at least many bars have finally given up on the rediculous, virtue-signalling paper straw bit.
Wow I am so happy about this. So much of the waste in NYC is plastic which is toxic and gets into our oceans and food systems. Refusing to get to go containers and cups is an extremely important step in combatting the industries pushing plastics on us consumers. So excited to visit these businesses listed.
Thanks Amy, Let’s support our businesses and let’s reduce plastic trash too. Follow us on itseasybeinggreen.org. We have a local newsletter too. Consider signing up for it.
Hmmm, I can’t be the only person who’s always wanted to smuggle in my own cocktail to go with my food.
Just wondering how much revenue from alcohol sales will be lost? Or, even just coffee, tea, soft drinks?
I think I am a little bit tired of al this recyclable business. For a long time now the entire paper-only push in bags, straws made of (disgusting tasting) paper/cardboard, and now this, reeks to me of an industry that does not want to do their part in really affecting change in this space. and wants us to to the heavy lifting. It does not pass the smell test for me. Everything I buy in the supermarket comes wrapped in plastic. Vegetables, bread, frozen foods, meats, cheeses, you name it. Why can’t the packaging industry do its part, in conjunction with the biggest food retailers in the country. Together THEY can create a better container for our foods that does not rely in so much plastic. Instead it is US who are always asked to think about the environments.
I am all for saving the planet but it has to come from all sides of the pollution equation to really feel like a movement. As far as I am concerned, the packaging and food retail industries are hypocrites in this fight.
You are so right! There is a New York State proposal in the legislature that almost passed last year which places the responsibility for plastic packaging back on the producers. It will come up for a vote again in January. Go on the beyondplastics.org website to learn all about it and to be notified about actions you can take. We have written about it in the recent newsletter of Its Easy Being Green https://mailchi.mp/b2202a0b60eb/stay-curious-stay-informed-take-actions?e=%5BUNIQID%5D
this is great! Can Abreu now advocate for some street lighting repairs & more garbage/recycling/compost bins as well as more frequent pickup throughout this district?
Call or write his office to express your needs. He’s responsive.
Takeout is the target here. Bring your own container for TAKEOUT HOT OR COLD drinks. Every order counts, and feel free to ask if you get a discount. I probably save using about 5 containers weekly. It adds up!
I don’t want to discourage the “it’s easy to be green” people, but this is so stupid and naive — this is going to save the planet? Come on. Think bigger and come up with better ideas than just targeting plastic water bottles. I want you to succeed, but this just comes off as sophomoric.
And for Shaun…I gusess it’s close to election time.
Of course this alone is not going to save the planet. No one said that it will. We need a lot more legislation and changes to current systems, a lot of which is in the pipeline or planning stages. (It is a violation of current health codes to use customer containers at deli and take out counters.) But this is something you can do to stop contributing to the problem everyday, and when you do, it can inspire others and make you feel good. Targeting plastic water bottles and coffee cups and lids is a no brainer on the way to bigger things. Try it, you may like!
We choose to be on the side of solutions rather than sit on our hands watching the waste pile up. Feels good to be doing something.
I don’t have any reusable water bottles because I live in NYC where you never need one. People carry around water bottles like they’re in the desert. There are a thousand places to get a drink any time.
Looks like Phil Donahue putting on the sticker. And save your comments, it’s just an observation.
Actually kind of baffling and dismaying to see how much food people leave on their plates…..
they don’t wrap up and take home – so the food is tossed.
This is at non- cheap restaurants on the West Side and throughout Manhattan,
“Over a third of all food in the United States goes uneaten. Much of that is commercial food waste — crops left in fields and foods spoiled in transport or tossed by retailers. But about 40 percent of food waste happens in the home, according to Feeding America”.
The restaurants save money, the customer doesn’t. And they have to lug their big bottles with them all day.
Many of us also have small reusable bottles that we can ask stores to refill for us when we are out and thirsty, instead of getting a single use plastic cup each time. Single use cups are not recycled and there are too many out there already! Just because you don’t see them after use, doesn’t mean they are not out there causing harm in the environment where they escape from trucks and landfills and end up in streams and oceans and beaches and third world countries. Watch the story of plastic!
This is nuts!
No.