Nomad's Zero Waste Policy

Nomad Cafe's "zero waste over the counter" efforts reflect goals that have now been officially adopted by the City of Oakland. Learn more about Zero Waste in Oakland by 2020.

Nomad Keeps Oakland Beautiful

Nomad Cafe helps to Keep Oakland Beautiful through our participation in the City of Oakland's Maintain-a-Drain program. We also clean litter from our neighborhood every day, and we help to keep litter off our streets in the first place by serving our food on china and washable food ware. Take-out orders are packaged in fully biodegradable packaging - including cutlery, cups, food containers, and even lids and straws -- made from corn, potatoes, starch and other plant fibers. The packaging is manufactured completely free of petroleum products. In order to further discourage unnecessary waste and to help offset our increased earth-friendly packaging costs, we have eliminated "bring-your-own cup or container" discounts in favor of a scale of surcharges for purchases in which customers use our to go packaging. This has resulted in a noticeable increase in customers' use of their own cups and containers, and a commensurate reduction in the entry of take-out packaging into the waste stream from our facility. Nomad Cafe's in-house waste reduction program includes participation in commercial recycling and commercial composting programs, preferential ordering of products containing minimal packaging waste, and consolidation of vendors and delivery schedules. We utilize biodegradable waste receptacle liners, and we make our coffee grounds available to customers for use in their gardens. We are proud of Oakland's leadership in making a healthier, safer environment in which to live, and we are pleased to be participating in that effort.