2025 Torres Brandy Zero Challenge US National Winner Announced
Please help us celebrate this year’s winner. . . Lauren Pellecchia and her “Why Trash When You Can Smash?” project! Lauren’s project started with a left behind glass crusher at Merchants Club in Newport, Kentucky. Recognizing the lack of glass recycling options in its area, the bar took a proactive approach to sustainability by using the glass crusher to repurpose one of its largest waste items—glass bottles. The machine transforms bottles into sand, leading the bar to explore potential uses for the material. By reaching out to local farms, gardening groups, and artists, they found strong interest in repurposing the crushed glass for drainage, mixed media art, and other creative applications. The enthusiasm was so great that the bar extended the initiative to neighboring establishments, inviting them to contribute their glass waste. This grassroots effort has evolved into a community-driven movement, demonstrating how a simple investment in glass crushing can benefit the environment, support the arts, and strengthen local agriculture. Through this initiative, the bar is not only reducing landfill waste but also fostering collaboration and sustainability in meaningful ways.
Good luck Lauren as you travel to Barcelona at the end of March to represent the US in the 2025 Torres Brandy Zero Challenge Global Final!
The 2025 Torres Brandy Zero Challenge, a Program of the USBG, called on Bar Owners, Bartenders, and Restaurant Managers to transform the hospitality sector by contributing sustainable projects and solutions with a positive impact for companies, people, and the planet. The Torres Brandy Zero Challenge is the first international competition that seeks the best sustainable project in the hospitality industry.
For the first time in the competition’s history, an all-women group of Finalists proposed projects with the potential to shape the future of bars, local communities, and the industry as a whole.