Charleston restaurants take pledge to become ocean friendly

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Styrofoam, plastic and trash piling up in our waterways and on our beaches is nothing new, but there is a new push to make restaurants more aware of their environmental impact.

Fleet Landing is one of about a dozen restaurants in Charleston that have been certified as “ocean friendly” as defined by the SurfRider Foundation.

The program is new, and the Charleston chapter of the SurfRider Foundation is the first on the East coast to work with restaurants on their certifications.

“We consider ourselves stewards here in the Lowcountry,” said Drew Hedlund, the executive chef at Fleet Landing. “We had to tweak some things here and there with the way we use our disposables, which we were already kind of on a path to finding. The functionality of it for us and the sustainability and good environment properties needed to hit on all cylinders.”

SurfRider volunteers said more restaurants need to take the same environmentally-friendly measures.

“We get so many tourists down here, because of our beautiful wildlife and or wild places so it's up to the restaurants to really be mindful of their footprint,” said Kate Ditloff, the chair of the Charleston SurfRider chapter.

It’s especially important, Ditloff said, after almost 4,000 pieces of styrofoam were picked up from the Washout on Folly Beach.

That alarming number is why organizers want restaurants to trade in plastic and styrofoam to-go containers for more eco-friendly and compostable versions.

However, finding the right biodegradable products isn’t easy.

“Some of our guests like to take our She Crab soup home with them,” Hedlund explained one challenge. “The corn-based cup that we could've put it in would've melted the cup and would not have worked for anybody.”

The changes also come at a cost.

“It’s certainly more alluring for a restaurant owner to say I'll just get the styrofoam and pay two pennies for a styrofoam box rather than 25, 37, 43 cents for this other box that's a much better choice ecologically,” added Hedlund.

Still, he said it’s well worth the price.

“If you're not on the bandwagon with it, you might have an eyebrow raised at you the next time your guests are eating with you,” he said.

Restaurateurs can contact ofr@charleston-surfrider.org for more information on the certification process and benefits.