Chipotle Sets Ambitious Waste Diversion Goal

Chipotle, the fast-casual restaurant chain, has set a goal to divert half of all of its restaurant waste from landfills by 2020. To reach that ambitious goal, Chipotle plans to reduce packaging and food waste, adjust portion sizes, implement more recycling and composting programs in its restaurants, conduct waste audits and donate more leftover food to local community organizations.

The company has already increased its diversion rate from 31 percent to 40 percent since 2015, and its new waste diversion goal could help lower emissions and “be a force for change.”

QSR Magazine has more:

Chipotle outlined its first real campaign under refreshed leadership Monday (April 9). It’s not a flashy new menu item or TV spot, but rather a reinforced vision of something the company has touted for decades. By 2020, Chipotle said it plans to divert half of all of its restaurant waste from landfills. 

“Increasing our waste diversion rate to 50 percent is an ambitious goal, but we feel it's important to be assertive in our efforts to advance our purpose," Caitlin Leibert, head of sustainability at Chipotle, said in a statement. "We remain deeply dedicated to bringing guests great tasting food while upholding Chipotle's values and commitment to food made with respect for the land and environment."

Since 2015, Chipotle said it increased its diversion rate from 31 percent to 40 percent—where it stood in 2017. The company’s goal to divert materials that would otherwise be sent to a landfill would lower emissions and “be a positive force for change,” it said.

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