With simple steps you can make a big difference in packaging that would otherwise end up in the trash. Avoid them or give them a new life. In this article we share all the tips.
You leave your work, all you feel like is sushi, and you fight that urge because your environmental conscience tells you that you don’t need another disposable package at home.
You can bring your own container, or if the establishment does not accept it (you should ask first), you can always give a better end to the packaging. The idea is always to compost or reuse, and only at the end of everything eaten – yes, because the only rule is that nothing can be left over, even if you leave it for a next meal.
Another method is to choose a restaurant that already has this concern. In this case, these spaces usually even encourage customers to bring their own container (sometimes even with offers).
But let’s get to tips.
1. Bring your own containers
This is the simplest step of all. Chains like Continente, Pingo Doce and Auchan already accept that you take your own packages to fill with take-away food, making this transition to a more sustainable life easier.
This way, when you don’t have time to cook or you really feel like a take-away chicken, for example, you can still have that pleasure and take it home with just a few footprints: those of your route to the dinner table.
2. What about home delivery?
Delivery is not like take-away because it implies that the food comes to you and you have no control over how it is delivered.
I mean, sort of.
You can control the order in several ways. One is to refuse disposable items, for example, in the Uber Eats and Glovo apps.
Then, you can also order through Takeaway.com, which makes deliveries on electric bicycles in the Lisbon region, thus minimizing the impact on the environment.
Finally, there is nothing like ordering from restaurants that themselves have a more sustainable policy. To find out which ones, all you have to do is explore Peggada‘s listings.
3. Is there any food left over from a meal out? Take the box and reuse it
When you go out to eat, it is normal that you don’t always have an empty container with you to take your leftovers home. In that case, it is always best to avoid food waste over refusing the box they will give you.
But even in this case you have two alternatives to be more sustainable. With the box you’re taking, depending on the material, you can reuse it later. Today it is forbidden to sell take-away food in single-use plastic containers (with the entry into national law in June 2021 that bans some single-use plastic items in catering and/or beverage and retail), which means you should take your food in a reusable, compostable, biodegradable or easily recyclable packaging that reduces the impact on the environment.
So if you have a compost bin you already know where to put the packaging, if it has the necessary requirements, or you can make use of Bea Johnson’s fourth “R”: recycle.
Still on this subject, you can always prevent this by having a box in the car (after all, in the middle of everything you have in the trunk, a container won’t make a difference) in case you have any food left over.
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