Downtown Springdale Alliance Expands Compostable Cup & Collection Project with Food Loops in the Downtown Outdoor Dining District
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 17, 2023
Contact: Jill Dabbs, Executive Director
Downtown Springdale
jill@downtownspringdale.org
(501) 425-0478
Downtown Springdale Alliance Expands Compostable Cup & Collection Project with Food Loops in the Downtown Outdoor Dining District
Springdale, AR – Downtown Springdale Alliance and Food Loops, a sustainability solutions company based in Rogers, AR are partnering for the third year to provide restaurants and bars in the Downtown Outdoor Dining District with cups that are 100% compostable. The project is designed to heighten the community’s awareness of food waste and make it easy for consumers to close the food loop by composting their cups.
Bringing sustainability measures, such as this one, to the Downtown Outdoor Dining District is made possible by the Tyson Family Foundation through their support as the sustainability partner to the Downtown Springdale Alliance. Downtown Springdale first piloted this project with support from the Tyson Family Foundation in 2021. That resulted in more than 800 pounds of cups being composted in 2022 instead of going to landfill, and that figure continues to grow as well as the number of participating businesses.
“Food Loops is proud to continue our partnership with the Downtown Springdale Alliance and to support their commitment to sustainability,” says Tom Rohr, President, Food Loops. “Through their use of compostable cups, plates, and utensils, along with the collection of all recyclables at many of their outdoor events, nearly 8.5 tons have been diverted from the local landfill to date. With the continued growth and excitement surrounding the transformation of downtown Springdale, this number will only grow.”
Patrons at restaurants and bars in the Outdoor Dining District can consume their beverages in compostable to go cups that are sponsored by Cromwell Architects Engineers and Signature Bank/Banco Si!. Those cups can be disposed of in specially designed receptacles, known as CupStakrs, that are attached to the trash cans within the Outdoor Dining District. The collected cups from the district are then composted and go back into the soil for area farmers and gardeners.
“Downtown Springdale is committed to activating our downtown spaces and making it easy for community members to compost when they come downtown for events like LIVE! At Turnbow, Ozarktober and Christmas on the Creek. This continued partnership with Food Loops enables us bring greater attention to the value and ease of composting within the district,” says Jill Dabbs, Executive Director of Downtown Springdale Alliance. “We’re grateful to have the support of the Tyson Family Foundation, Cromwell Architects Engineers and Signature Bank/Banco Si! who are making this innovative project possible.”
For more information about the Outdoor Dining District and the compostable cup project, visit https://www.downtownspringdale.org/downtown-outdoor-dining-district.
ABOUT DOWNTOWN SPRINGDALE ALLIANCE: Downtown Springdale Alliance is a nonprofit that was formed in 2011 with a mission to create a vibrant downtown. For more information, visit www.downtownspringdale.org.
ABOUT FOOD LOOPS: Established in 2017, Food Loops is passionate about diverting food waste and recyclables from the area landfill. Through hands-on involvement with everything from zero-waste events, to working with area food trucks, restaurant owners, hospitals and schools, up through the Fortune 500 companies right here in our backyard—Food Loops processes between 70 and 100 tons of waste monthly for its customers. Once collected, food waste is then processed into sustainable compost, which in turn is sold to grow more food—hence our name, Food Loops. For more information, contact Tom Rohr at Tom@foodloops.net.