Give It up to Burgerville

The folks at Burgerville are at it again. After getting written up in Forbes Magazine as "hamburgers with a soul," for selling sustainable, hormone-free, locally-grown fare, and for providing good employee health insurance, the Vancouver, Wa., fast food chain is expanding its efforts.

Reuters reports that Burgerville's employees recently started a company-wide effort across its 39 locations to recycle and compost. Because of the program, over 60 percent of the company's garbage avoids landfills. It's good PR but it's also good business. The company will save $100,000 in waste removal costs. And recycling isn't just for packaging. Almost 70,000 gallons of used frying oil has been recycled since they started the practice in 2006. What's more: They've taken nine out of ten gallons of the oil and turned it into a cleaner biodiesel fuel.

They're also taking their gourmet reputation up a notch. In addition to serving menu items like the seasonal Cherry Chipotle Pulled Pork Sandwich and the Oregon Cherry and Walnut Salad, Portland's Oregonian says now they're offering a glass of Pinot to pair it with.

Burgerville's "more than a fast food joint" marketing is great. The one thing that could up the message? Get Justin Timberlake as pitch man.

Photo courtesy of MelissaandShane, via Flickr