COOK - The Truth about Trash

March 2013 - We go to Las Vegas every year to the Catersource conference and this year I took advantage of a few friends.  I started to talk about the Cook Event to some of the best caterers in the country. Caterers who have done events like this one and could shoot holes in the plan that I was forming.

I stood in the hall and told Jeff Ware from Catering By Michael's in Chicago the "plan".  After I was done  he shook his head at me and said "sounds good but I am a little concerned bout the trash.  We have a formula written out for trash, when I get back to the office let me email you that formula"  OK, Great!!  I said but I thought I had this thing laid out really well.  What is wrong with my trash plan? When we did our big event in West Baden We had one dumpster for almost 2000 guest, surely 4 dumpsters for 9000 will work.

Later that week after returning from Vegas I get this email:

Breakfast & Lunch served on disposables = 0.075yds per person

Snacks/Beverage Service on disposables = 0.03yds per person

Dinner served on disposables = 0.08yds per person

Dinner (multiple stations) served on disposables = 0.082yds per person

Dinner served on china = 0.0375yds per person

Based on our experience you would need around 720 yards. That is 24 of the big roll off dumpsters (30yds each). I think asking your vendor to bring a garbage truck will be the best option. In Chicago, Waste Management also has portable compactors they can bring to events and that significantly reduces the yardage needed as they compact it onsite.

LMAO 24 DUMPSTERS!!! I guess I was a little off!!!

Nothing I could do but laugh.  Thank God for friends!!

A few days later I called the local trash removal company and he tried to convince me that I only needed one dumpster...........AH NO???  He wasn't getting it so I said "I tell you what, let me send you a list of all the disposable items we will have on site that evening.  You take this to yours operation meeting on Monday morning and get back to me"  This is what I sent him:

Trash Estimate
30,912	Bottles of beer
1,026	1.75 Lt bottles
6,624	Wine Bottles
15,962	Soda Cans
25,056	Bottles of water
1,026	Bottles of Vodka Drink
20,000	Cocktail Napkins
3,000	coffee cups
25,000	9oz plastic cups
12,060	9" plates
1,000	dessert forks
10,000	6" plates
25,000	12 oz plastic cups
10,200	Dinner Napkins
10,200	forks
10,200	spoons
10,200	knives
12,000	sugar packets
3,000	cream packets
232,466	Pieces of trash

The next Monday afternoon I got a phone call from Ron Howard (yes I said Ron Howard) from Hoosier Trash. "Um I think we are going to have to come up with a better plan, can we met?"

My response "You Think?"