Boba Tea House Owner Alex Taing in front of the first Certified Blue Restaurant Program sticker to the right. Photo courtesy of Long Beach Water.
A new program introduced today by Long Beach Water will help and encourage local eateries to meet specific water use efficiency standards.
Boba Tea House, a West Long Beach eatery, is the first to be certified under the program. The Certified Blue Restaurant (CBR) program helps restaurants save water, energy and money on their monthly utilities, in an effort to contribute to the community’s sustainable lifestyle.
“Saving water is in all of our best interest,” Alex Taing, owner of Boba Tea House, said in a statement. “We want to show our neighbors that we’re doing our part to save both water and energy. Every restaurant can benefit from this program; it’s good for our city!”
To be considered a CBR, restaurants must use dishwashers that are Energy Star certified, kitchen hand sinks and restroom faucets with a .5 gallon-per-minute output or lower, pre-rinse spray valves with a 1.1 gallon-per-minute output or lower and toilets using 1.6 gallons-per-flush or lower.
“We take great pride in our quality of life here in Long Beach,” Art Levine, president of the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners, said in a statement. “As part of that, we’re pleased to support and recognize our outstanding restaurants that achieve exceptional water efficiency in our community.”
Interested restaurants can enroll via the link here to receive a no-cost, on-site efficiency survey, free water efficient devices (if eligible) and an assessment for other possible rebates, according to the announcement.
“We found there is a great water savings potential in restaurants,” Jenyffer Vasquez, CBR program manager at Long Beach Water, said in a statement. “Local eateries can be tremendous partners in helping us create an even more water-wise community by participating in this program. Our staff works hard to provide restaurants support to ensure they meet the requirements to gain this esteemed certification.”
Certified restaurants receive a free branded “brag” kit to show off their pride in being water-use efficient; the kit includes coasters, window clings, stickers and more. Restaurant goers can look out for the blue and green CBR stickers and coasters to know they are supporting water conscious businesses.
Boba Tea House is located at 1336 West Willow Street.
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