Jan 8 2009
White Castle restaurants will introduce new "green" food packaging in all 412 locations over the next few weeks. The formerly white paper sack and white corrugated Crave Cases are going "green" by switching to brown paper and corrugated.
The new brown paper sacks are made from 100% recycled material. The new brown Crave Case packaging bears the recyclable icon.
"White Castle has been a responsible steward of the environment for many years in several different aspects of our businesses and operations. This is our most recent commitment to growth of our role in the community -- emphasizing the importance of environmental concerns," said marketing vice president Kim Bartley.
White Castle owns and operates three of its own bakeries and employs its own fleet of refrigerated trucks to distribute the flash frozen buns to restaurants in 12 states. They have been committed to reusing and recycling the outer bun cartons since 1965. The White Castle frozen sandwich product is shipped in corrugated cartons bearing the familiar circle of three arrows indicating their recyclable status.
Since 1992, the company has used Duro-Last white roofing for new restaurant construction. Warranted for 15 to 20 years, Duro-Last reflects over 86% of the sun's energy, reducing energy costs. Duro-Last is a charter partner in the ENERGY STAR(R) Roof Products Program, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
White Castle division PSB Company recycles thousands of pounds of metal each year including stainless, galvanized and cold-rolled. White Castle recycles approximately 1200 pounds of recyclable plastics per year.
LED lighting used in 55 White Castle restaurant locations reduced CO2 by 948 tons per year. Each unit retrofit reduces CO2 emissions by 17 tons per year. Annual electricity savings is $2,550 per store from an investment of approximately $10,000 per store.
Plans are underway for more environmentally responsible initiatives including storm water bioretention and use of more green building materials in the construction of restaurant buildings.
White Castle opened its first restaurant in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921 and sold its burgers for only 5 cents. White Castle owns and operates 412 restaurants in Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis, Louisville, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Jersey, New York, and St. Louis.