Sustainability Spotlight: Taste of Sustainability Social Crawl

Earlier this month the Long Beach Water Department and Environmental Services Bureau partnered up for a new event, the Taste of Sustainability Social Crawl, to showcase sustainable restaurants in the city. Participants boarded a big red bus and toured 3 restaurants and a brewery that were all certified both Blue and Foam Free.

The Certified Blue Restaurant Program launched in 2017 to provide free water saving devices to Long Beach restaurants and recognize water saving establishments. The program now has 62 Certified Blue Restaurants in the city and hosts multiple events per year to connect residents with these restaurants. Through this program, LB Water has distributed 412 water saving devices to local businesses saving over 5.5 million gallons of water to date. Find Certified Blue Restaurants at https://blue.lbwater.org.

The Foam Free program launched in 2018 to encourage local restaurants to adopt polystyrene (foam) free containers ahead of the city-wide ban on these products that is rolling out this year. In return for early adoption, businesses receive a promotional kit to showcase that they are a #FoamFreeLB business, and promotion through city website social media pages. There are now 102 Foam Free businesses in Long Beach, find them online at www.longbeach.gov/fflb.

This event was a great collaboration between these two programs that are both pushing our restaurants to be more environmentally friendly. 38 participants rode the bus to taste snacks and drinks at each establishment and received reusable utensils, bowls, and cups to reduce waste at the event and into the future.

Check the program websites for news on future events, or follow us on Facebook and Instagram @LBSustainabilty for updates.