How is your Takeaway Boxed?

How is your Takeaway Boxed?

Are you regularly tempted by a Chicken Chow Mein, a pizza, Balti dish or kebab? If so, you are not alone. The demand for takeaways has never been higher and in response, there was a 34% increase in the number of fast-food outlets in the UK from 2000 to 2018*.

The convenience of having an affordable hot meal, without having to cook, is tempting and many of the 26,000 independent outlets also offer home delivery through Just Eat, Deliveroo and the like. What packaging does your favourite meal come in? Can it be recycled or is it bio-degradable?

For many years, fish and chips, kebabs and other meals were served in polystyrene containers. These may have helped to keep the food warm, but they are seldom recycled and do not naturally break down. When the population is consuming takeaways in such volume, millions of waste polystyrene is having a significant environmental impact.

Earlier this year the Government announced plans to ban the use of polystyrene food packaging. This measure is one of the many proposed to help meet environmental targets. If enforced, it would force food outlets to consider other packaging options, so what choice do they have?

Replacing Polystyrene with Sustainable Packaging

Many food outlets have already made the change from polystyrene to more sustainable packaging options. Aylesbury Box Company have seen a considerable increase in requests for corrugated cardboard good containers. Across the country, your fish and chip supper is now more likely to be served in cardboard than polystyrene containers. If your chosen chippy has yet to swap, have a word. A bit of people power can encourage them to make the change.

Back in 2017, we were already championing a number of companies that were ditching polystyrene in favour of cardboard packaging. Many more have now followed suit, switching from polystyrene to cardboard. If you would like to find out more, or would like a quote for corrugated cardboard food containers, please give Aylesbury Box Company a call on 01296 436888.

This is a favourable move, but not perfect. The issue is that cardboard that has contained food will typically have a greasy or sauce residue. This means it is not suitable for recycling. On the plus side, it will break down in the waste, so, in comparison to polystyrene, the long-term impact is greatly reduced.

Indian and Chinese food is generally served in foil dishes with a metal-lined, cardboard lid. Both the tin and lid can be washed, the reused and recycled. Is this something you take the time to do, or does the packaging and food waste end up in the standard waste bin? Remember, small steps can make a big difference, so rinse and recycle that packaging!

Lunch Boxes Prevent Waste

The blame for packaging waste stretches beyond hot takeaway meals. A recent Lunch on the Go article in the Guardian highlighted that lunchtime meal deals were contributing 11 billion items of packaging to waste. These pre-packed sandwich boxes, crisp packets and drinks bottles are rarely recycled. Getting back in the habit of bringing lunch boxes and reusable water bottles to work would have a very positive impact on the environment.

No matter what packaging your food comes in, using your own knife and fork is far better than single-use plastic cutlery.

*Data from the Office of National Statistics