Wren | Actions

One way to have an impact in your community is by encouraging your favorite local shop to swap to reusable or compostable containers, cutlery, and bags.

Take a few minutes to think of the places you like to order from or visit throughout the week, and pick out a few that could cut down on plastic use.

Check on their website to learn more about what kind of plastic is being used, as sometimes they might already using a biodegradable plastic made from plants. Depending on what you find, consider asking them to swap to a more sustainable alternative. The hierarchy of best to worst containers for restaurants looks roughly like this:

You can send a DM to their social media account, contact them through a web form, or bring the topic up in person if you’re a regular. Something short and sweet works great. If you have the time, take a minute to research what similar establishments are doing, or what types of regulations or incentives might be in place to help them make the switch. In the U.S, organizations like Plastic Free Restaurants offer subsidies for restaurants to buy reusables.

While you’re at it, take the time to ask them if it’s possible to bring your own takeout container or mug while waiting for them to make the shift — many restaurants can even save money by offering an incentive for customers to bring their own containers. For example, one of my favorite tea shops in my city only serves their drinks in plastic cups. After searching on their socials and website for their sustainability statement, I sent them a message that said:

“Hi there! I saw that [a similar shop nearby] offers compostable paper cups, do you have any plans for rolling out similar cups? I didn’t see any plans listed on your website. I love your tea and would buy it more frequently if it was offered in a lower impact container. In the meantime, can I bring in my own reusable mug to your shop?”

More on the impacts of takeout containers

Finding the best material is complicated. What's best for a quick service restaurant might not make sense for dine-in spots.

While there are peer-reviewed, journal published life cycle assessments available on the impacts of aluminum and plastic containers, we had trouble finding assessments for other materials that were on the same level of credibility. For example, this interesting study that finds that single-use cardboard containers are better than reusable containers was conducted by a paper packaging alliance...

And while our individual behavior (i.e. reuse or disposal method) on the total environmental impact of packaging is important, it isn’t well studied.

If in doubt, pick an option that’s reusable or plant-based and biodegradable, as all are largely better than disposables.