ATLANTA, April 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As Earth Day approaches, Ted’s Montana Grill, a pioneer in sustainable restaurant practices, is proud to announce it has saved more than 50 million plastic straws from entering landfills and waterways. Not a single plastic straw or stir stick has been used in a Ted’s since the first restaurant opened its doors in 2002. Now, more than 3.5 million wax-coated paper straws are served each year.
But Ted’s Montana Grill knows solutions to a healthy ocean and healthy planet go far beyond using paper straws. As an industry leader, the restaurant is continually looking for ways to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, single-use plastics. Ted’s was among the first to introduce 100% compostable to-go cups and bio-mass cutlery made from cornstarch and tapioca. These efforts and many others lead to 70% less plastic waste than average restaurants.
“It’s entirely conceivable that Ted’s Montana Grill was among, if not the first, restaurant to recognize the importance of taking small steps to reduce plastic pollution in order to protect the planet,” said Dune Ives, executive director of Lonely Whale. “Their leadership on single-use plastic straws, stir sticks and cutlery has influenced NGOs like Lonely Whale, manufacturers like Aardvark Straws and youth leaders including Olivia and Carter Reis, founders of One More Generation. It’s clear they understand that every restaurant – no matter how large or small – has a role to play in protecting our natural environment.”
Created from a desire to preserve and grow America’s bison herd, founders Ted Turner and George McKerrow built the company to support a healthy planet and do it in the most sustainable way possible. Since 2002, Ted’s Montana Grill has helped to preserve and grow herds across North America to approximately 600,000 bison. And to help combat water scarcity, Ted’s partners with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation to fund water restoration and offset a portion of annual water usage. More than 16 million gallons are restored each year in the Colorado River Basin through the partnership, which began in 2012.
The company knows every sustainable effort made in the restaurant adds up to have a major overall impact on our planet and challenges others in the industry to follow suit. In 2018 alone Ted’s Montana Grill converted four million gallons of grease into bio-diesel. Using recycled butcher block paper on the tables instead of linen tablecloths saved 1.5 million gallons of water. 336,000 pounds of food organics were diverted from local landfills. And more than 370 tons of material were kept out of the landfill through recycling.
“From the very beginning, environmental consciousness led our decision making, it was the number one consideration when designing and building the restaurants, choosing appliances and systems and sourcing the food we serve,” said George McKerrow, co-founder of Ted’s Montana Grill. “The choices we make at Ted’s won’t single-handedly change the world. But as early-adopters of the latest innovations, we hope to lead the way so others in the industry can join our efforts and make a real difference.”
The next frontier Ted’s Montana Grill is pioneering in their restaurants is working to eliminate toxins in soaps and cleaners. Biodegradable boraxo soap has always been used in the bathrooms. Now, the company is testing the use of electrolyzed water to clean and sanitize surfaces, in the hopes it can replace toxic cleaners, disinfectants and detergents.
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About Ted’s Montana Grill
Inspired by the pioneer spirit of the American West, Ted’s Montana Grill is a Classic American Grill committed to serving honest food accompanied with genuine hospitality. The menu is known for Authentic American dishes using simple, timeless recipes, careful preparations and fresh, local ingredients. Selections include a wide variety of made-from-scratch cuisine such as iconic, award-winning burgers, hand-cut aged steaks, premium chicken with no antibiotics, fresh fish and our house specialty, all-natural bison.
Ted’s Montana Grill was co-founded in 2002 by Ted Turner, the media entrepreneur, environmentalist and philanthropist, and award-winning restaurateur, George W. McKerrow. Headquartered in Atlanta with a total of 45 locations in 16 states, Ted’s earned TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence from 2013 - 2015. To learn more or find a restaurant, visit tedsmontanagrill.com, like Ted’s on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram.
About Lonely Whale
Lonely Whale is an award-winning incubator for courageous ideas that drive impactful market-based change on behalf of our ocean. Founded in December 2015 by Adrian Grenier and Lucy Sumner, Lonely Whale is inspired by the power of community to create the change needed to ensure a healthy planet. Lonely Whale is working towards a new era of radical collaboration, together facilitating the creation of innovative ideas that push the boundary on current trends in technology, media and advocacy that positively impact the health of our ocean. The organization spearheaded the global Strawless Ocean movement, which permanently removes single-use plastic straws from establishments and markets, and NextWave Plastics, the first global network of ocean-bound plastics supply chains. Lonely Whale’s work has been recognized by Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas and Most Innovative Companies, the Shorty Awards, the ADDY Awards, the SEAL Awards, the P4G 2018 Circular Economy Award sponsored by the Danish Government, the HALO Awards, and more. Lonely Whale is a proud supporter of the UN Environment’s #CleanSeas campaign. To learn more and support, visit www.lonelywhale.org or follow @LonelyWhale.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/57574c83-1889-4e7d-8e8c-b040d0674a65