Take It Away!

by Nicki Martin

Yay you! You’ve got a reusable coffee cup (have you seen these fab collapsible ones by the way?), you’re evangelical about remembering your water bottle and you take your own shopping bags to the supermarket every single time!  But have you recently ordered a meal from your favourite takeaway restaurant, only to be absolutely horrified at the amount of plastic and packaging that ends up at your door?

Here’s a couple of easy ways to Step Up and reduce your waste when ordering in…

 
1. Pick up your meals

By avoiding delivery services, you’ll be able to avoid much of the unnecessary packaging. It’s not as convenient but instead of phoning in, grab your headphones or a book (for while you are waiting) and walk in with your reusable containers....

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2. BYOC

It can be more problematic than usual at the moment, as some venues have implemented extra-cautious COVID-19 practices (even though there have been repeated assurances from experts that reusable containers are perfectly safe) but remember, you are definitely allowed to ask to BYO Container! Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) confirms that pre-pandemic, none of the food safety laws in Australia prevented retailers from letting customers use their own containers.

If you want to be 100% sure that you will be able to get the food in your own container, just call up and ask if it will be okay. Tell them you will be coming in and would like to get the food in the clean and dry containers you’ll bring along. Nothing ventured nothing gained!

And of course, the most important thing you can do as a consumer is vote with your wallet and support businesses that allow you to BYO.

‍3. Refuse disposable cutlery and extras

Plastic plates, cutlery, cups, and drink stirrers can’t be recycled easily – even when they are made from recyclable plastic. They’re either the wrong shape or are too light to be sorted correctly by recycling machines, which are designed to separate larger items like bottles and tubs. And the recycling machines will often mistakenly sort plastic dinnerware as paper - which mean they end up contaminating the paper and cardboard products and it all goes to landfill.  Extras such as single-use packets of sauces, seasoning, toothpicks and receipts should also be avoided.

 
  4. Bin the bag

So often orders are double bagged! Paper bags are definitely a better option but skipping the bag all together, or bringing your own, is far preferable.

5. Compost and recycle what you can

Don't generate needless waste. Greasy, cheese-smeared pizza boxes can’t go in the recycling bin but can go in your compost bin or worm farm; cans of drink can be returned for cash at a Container Deposit Scheme while soft plastics need to be kept separate and put in a REDcycle bin at the supermarket.

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6. Get informed

The Trashless Takeaway website lists places where you can BYO container in Australia; taking a step to reduce the amount of single-use plastics ending up in landfill and waterways. You can search suburb or postcode, or use a filter function to focus on particular cuisines and also find listings in other categories, such as butchers, delis, bulk wholefoods retailers - even places offering alcohol refills! And if you’ve found a local takeaway that welcomes BYO containers that’s not listed, make sure you add it to the map. 

7. Spread the word!

 Sharing is caring! Encourage friends, family and colleagues to join you - the less waste we all produce the better. Show how you’ll Step Up by sharing a pledge and tagging us @cleanupaustralia #stepuptocleanup