Sustainable food packaging: Boost business and reduce waste

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It’s no secret that eco-friendly trends are, well, trending in many industries, and the restaurant industry is no exception. Rather than a short-lived fad, the movement towards sustainability and reducing environmental impact is enduring, and that’s good news.

Restaurants rely on food packaging now more than ever, so solutions are necessary to answer the continued demand for takeaway and delivery services. Couple that with consumers who are more keenly aware of their own environmental impact, and you’ve got a recipe for positive change.

The restaurant industry has long been a primary producer of waste that ends up in landfills and waterways. Sustainable food packaging can help mitigate this problem. A combination of clever new inventions and age-old wisdom has led to improved packaging options and a significant reduction in single-use plastics. But there’s a long road ahead.

In this article, we’ll examine why restaurants should shift to sustainable food packaging as soon as possible. We’ll look at the options for restaurants that want to make the switch. What works and what doesn’t? How can costs be managed, and how can customers be satisfied?

Why switch to sustainable food packaging?

There are two main reasons for restaurants to use sustainable food packaging. First, in the face of climate change, doing so is ethically the right choice. Second, it’s simply practical—for our planet, for our species, and even for increased profits.

Plastic pollution is a non-political issue that affects everyone. While landfills, oceans, and roadsides are just some places plastic trash ends up, the byproducts go further than that. Just this year, microplastics were found in human blood for the first time.

Plastic waste has been found all over the Earth, including plastic bags at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. From the human bloodstream to the ocean’s deepest point, plastic waste has invaded our entire existence. There is nowhere left for it to go–reducing such waste wherever possible is paramount.

The restaurant industry in the U.S. generates some 78% of all disposable packaging, including more than 36 billion disposable utensils. Plastics are ingrained in the restaurant industry because they’re cheap, sterile, and lightweight.

But consumers are turning against plastic waste. Millennials are 1.5 times more likely to purchase a product from a sustainable company than from a non-sustainable competitor. So, if your packaging is biodegradable, reusable, or compostable, customers—especially younger ones—will appreciate it.

A full two-thirds of restaurant-goers polled indicated they’d be willing to pay more to support eco-friendly restaurants. So, even if using sustainable packaging costs you more, customers won’t mind paying extra for it—and the peace of mind that comes with it.

Sustainable food packaging options

Fortunately, the food packaging industry is catching up with trends and offers many alternatives to “traditional” plastic packaging. Options include packaging made from renewable sources that are often compostable, packaging that’s reusable, and packaging made from recycled materials.

Production of sustainable packaging costs about 25% more than traditional food containers. However, consumer demand and willingness to support eco-friendly food packaging, combined with the potential marketing upside, can mitigate this cost increase. A bit of long-term thinking may be required to make the move viable, but it’s doable.

Packaging from renewable sources: Bioplastics

Before plastic came along, almost all packaging came from renewable sources. Gratefully, recent smart initiatives have rebooted this practice by using newer renewable resources for packaging materials.

For example, sugarcane can be fashioned into packaging, often referred to as “sugarcane plastic.” Once the sugar has been pressed out of the cane, rather than discarding the pulp, it can be recycled to make take-out containers and food packaging solutions that are compostable, convenient, and work in both freezer and microwave. Sugarcane is simply one example of compostable products—corn and seaweed are sustainable alternatives as well. Check with your wholesaler to see what they have and what’s right for you.

Please note that compostable doesn’t always mean you can throw it into a backyard compost heap. Instead, many compostable packaging components must be processed at special aerobic composting facilities. While bioplastics like those made from sugarcane are biodegradable, they can result in the microplastics described above when they biodegrade.

So they’re not perfect, but renewable resources like bioplastics are a positive development that reduces wood use in paper products and petroleum-based plastic use.

Packaging from renewable sources: Paper

Paper has long been a popular food packaging material, and it’s making a comeback. Because it’s entirely biodegradable, paper waste is minimally harmful to the environment. The carbon footprint left at the beginning of the process, when trees are harvested, is cause for concern.

Recycled paper, bamboo paper, and hemp paper (where available) are all sustainable alternatives with significantly lower environmental impacts—and do the job just fine. Even using old newspaper has a long history, with fish and chip shops in the U.K. relying on the material for decades.

Paper makes for a warm, comforting packaging design, especially combined with traditional wrapping like twine. Customers often react positively to such overtly green packaging options, so using a paper bag instead of a plastic bag can be a good start. Paperboard is somewhere between paper and cardboard, and its thick, durable cartons can contain food without getting soggy.

In addition to being harmless to the environment, paper is a home-compostable material. You can comfortably chuck it into a backyard compost heap to decompose.

Reusable packaging

Often, certain types of food require sturdy packaging to carry it–consider a heaping serving of hot curry! A common solution worldwide is a thick plastic container. While it can end up in a landfill, customers may find it reusable for many purposes in their homes.

Reusing packaging materials takes even less energy than recycling since recycled plastic leaves a large carbon footprint. So if you’re using standard plastic, reminding customers that the packaging can be reused and has a long shelf life can help positively shift customers’ perceptions of your restaurant.

Providing, allowing for, or selling reusable cups and bottles can be a positive branding project and reduce waste. Since 20% of its global waste comes from single-use cups, Starbucks has launched new plans to eliminate their use and encourage reusable mugs. But even the smallest individual coffee shop can sell reusable insulated cups–and there are many merchandising opportunities, as the coffee giant clearly knows!

Oddly, reusable bottles are somewhat of a niche industry these days. Brewpubs have provided refillable growlers in the U.S. for a few decades now. At some point, norms changed regarding recycling glass, and the U.S. is an outlier in its lack of reusing glass. In reality, however, reusing glass bottles is the norm all over the world (and in human history). So, even if your business takes care to recycle them, recall that glass bottles are both washable and reusable.

Recycled plastic

Using recycled plastic containers is an idea that’s a bit past its time. While the concept is noble, the result is usually the same as regular plastic: It ends up in a landfill. Even if the recycled plastic is recyclable, food waste or residue on it will often result in it being thrown away at recycling plants. The concept of a circular economy based on recycled plastic is nice, but it’s largely impractical.

What about plastic straws, plastic bags, and takeaway utensils?

Chances are you’ve heard much ado about straws and plastic bags in recent years. In short, this is the story: They’re no longer appreciated, and many people wish they would stop existing.

Many restaurants have opted for paper straws, even if they aren’t quite the solution the world is looking for. After all, they’re still a single-use product—and they get soggy and stop working left too long in the drink. Metal straws or bamboo straws are a far better product for dine-in options. For takeaway options, paper straws will have to do for now.

Plastic bags are anathema to many consumers these days. Paper is a far better alternative for the time being. Many cities even whole countries–have banned plastic bags, so increasingly they’re not even an option. Businesses and consumers will instead have to rely on paper and bioplastics.

In place of plastic utensils, bamboo utensils work quite well. Bamboo is a highly renewable resource, as it’s one of the fastest growing plants on the planet. Noting that you provide bamboo cutlery will help customers feel a sense of relief at not having to throw out or collect more useless, cluttering plastic utensils.

Moving in the right direction

Ditching plastic waste and switching to sustainable alternatives is a team effort that will take an industry-wide push—but the trend is already in full swing, and wholesalers and retailers alike have taken note. Customers will be happy to support restaurants that follow eco-friendly practices.

Maximize brand integrity by sharing your efforts on your social media, including Yelp Connect. Further your reach by promoting your sustainable practices in a paid ad or campaign to help boost your image—while you do the right thing. That’s a win-win.

Another win-win is using Yelp Connect in combination with Yelp Guest Manager. The two pair together brilliantly to ensure your online presence syncs with your FOH to get everything flowing just right.

Want to see how it works? Curious if they’re right for you? Reach out to us for a free demo, and we’ll be happy to show you around. For us, helping sustain the restaurant industry is the name of the game.