By Pamela Silvestri | silvestri@siadvance.com   STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- In a rough-and-tumble business environment, where entrepreneurs battle minimum wage increases and fluctuating costs, one Brooklyn eatery has come up with a unique business plan, according to a recent report.   The idea for soon-to-open Rhodora, according to an article in Grub Street, is to eliminate the chef position -- and trash. And, yes, that would be garbage -- such as food packaging, bathroom rubbish and other verboten disposables that cannot be recycled.   On the chef matter, Rhodora will have a menu format, as the article notes, that “lands between substantial bar snacks and light dinner fare — oysters and seafood conservas, cheese and charcuterie, sliced bread, a few other basic items like a bitter-greens salad and pickled vegetables.” So a staff of about a dozen basically pools tasks and runs the show collectively for a piece of the profits.   On the trash matter, the food service company that owns the restaurant, Oberon Group, has gone to lengths to generate zero waste, a business model they’ve spun successfully in other projects. The company, on its website, says it has been “carbon neutral or negative as of 2018.” Bathroom waste would be disposed of in TerraCycle boxes which are costly -- the article puts the price at $800 per box -- but do the environmentally sound trick.   Said the Grub Street piece, “Oberon has sourced wines in compostable boxes, dropped liquor brands that use unrecyclable caps (that’s more than you might think), found a dishwasher that uses electrolyzed water to eliminate the need for soap, gotten rid of paper receipts, tracked down a nonprofit called ReCORK that turns used wine corks into shoe soles, and, at least for now, has retired the Francis Mallmann–inspired oven.” (Mallmann is an Argentinian chef known for grilling.)   WOULD IT WORK HERE?   A South Shore restaurant owner was dubious of such a concept. Even with carting costs at an average of $500 per month, he said the idea is a tough one on Staten Island.   “There’s a lot of waste in restaurants. You can serve really top-quality food in small portions and people will balk,” he said, adding that Staten Islanders expect value (i.e. large portions) for their dollar.   “When you have these large portions you generate a lot of waste. To-go containers, plastic knives and forks...I just don’t see how it can work,” he said. “Eliminating a chef, and having the staff shuck oysters, slice cheese, mix drinks? All sounds nice but is that really a restaurant anymore?”   Mike Colameco from “The Bite” on Create TV had an interesting little tidbit recently on how in about 20 years people will be eating bugs. And, he predicts grasshoppers will be part of the cuisine. He compared it to non-Asians approach to sushi years ago, “gross” by some camps back then, but it’s certainly a flourishing concept now.   Do you think our restaurants should be more environmentally conscious? Or do you care when you eat out?