zero waste month

TGIF: Celebrate Zero Waste Month With Sustainable Cocktails in Hong Kong

Sustainable initiatives are popping up all around the world, from planting trees to reducing plastic and textile waste. Now, the Zero Waste Month initiative is bringing together bars from all around the world, including Hong Kong and Macau, to tackle food waste, one sustainable cocktail at a time. 

Bartenders in Hong Kong are becoming more conscious of their carbon footprint, embracing zero- or low-waste solutions, like packaging and sustainable produce. 2020 even saw the opening of the first closed-loop bar in the city, Penicillin. 

In August, Flor de Caña, a fair trade-certified and sustainably produced rum from Nicaragua, is hosting the global Zero Waste Month initiative, uniting top bars in more than 30 countries to create zero-waste cocktails. Supported by Food Made Good – a global non-profit promoting sustainability within the food service industry – the initiative calls for the bars to prepare sustainable cocktails using Flor de Caña rum and local ingredients and repurposed food or leftovers from their venues. Even garnishes need to be made from foods that would otherwise go to waste!

flor de cana sustainable rum
Flor de Caña rum.

Bars in Hong Kong taking part in the Initiative include Argo, with its Upcycled Gimlet cocktail, Ozone Bar with its Green Minded, Fox Glove with its Above Zero and Stockton, with its Coco de Cana. 

green minded sustainable cocktail
The Green Minded cocktail by Ozone Bar. Source: Zerowastecocktails.com
zero waste month sustainable cocktails
The Upcycled Gimlet from Argo. Source: Zerowastecocktails.com

In Macao, Antica Trattoria, Bottles, and ​​Galaxy Hotel’s The Macallan Bar have also crafted cocktails for the Zero Waste Month initiative.  

Did you know that a third of all food produced around the world intended for us to eat is lost or wasted? This accounts for roughly 1.6 billion tons of food every year, making initiatives like these vital!

For more information on Zero Waste Month, visit the official website to check out the complete list of participating venues per country. Meanwhile, you can check out our tips on how to reduce food waste in your daily life

See also: Is your cocktail eco-unfriendly?