In today’s economy, more and more consumers are concerned about the impacts of their takeout to the environment. Restaurants typically make use of plastic and paper products to keep their food and beverages safe during deliveries, ensuring that their customers get their food fresh and sanitary.
However, consumers have concerns about the wastes produced by the food and beverage industry, as the majority of the packaging materials used in restaurants, bars, cafes, and the like are not biodegradable, and contribute to the growing issues of pollution, climate change, and environmental degradation.
As a business owner of an up and coming restaurant, you may have similar concerns over the packaging used in keeping your food products safe. Thankfully, you don’t have to make the difficult decision of choosing between your business or the environment, as we present five types of sustainable and eco-friendly biodegradable food packaging options that you can choose from.
Integrate these items into your business, and be worry-free about the effects of your products as you practice proper sustainable business operations!
1. Aluminum Bottled Water
Aluminum is one of the most sustainable materials on earth, being endlessly recyclable until the end of its useful life. When used for bottled water, aluminum reduces the amount of plastic bottles littered in landfills and oceans. Aluminum bottles are also customizable, and can hold both hot and cold liquids for a considerable amount of time.
Unlike aluminum cans, most aluminum bottles do not have a plastic liner in them, so the entire bottle is purely recyclable down to the last fragment. Keep a stock of aluminum bottled water on hand for anytime you need to serve up some ice-cold water to your customers. Promote your business, too, with customized aluminum bottles that bear your company logo.
Business owners in the restaurant and sports industries would benefit most from aluminum bottled water as these keep drinks cool for long, and can be used for better business practices that won’t add to pollution or the harmful effects of climate change. Find out more about the sustainability of aluminum bottles, and visit myownwater.com/aluminum-water-bottles.
2. Sugarcane Food Containers
Sugarcane food containers became a big hit with the food and beverage industry as the material is made from the excess waste produced by extracting sugar from sugarcane. This creates a material similar in feel to paper, but is sturdy enough to hold hot soups, as well as dry foods. They also soak up grease, and can be microwaved.
Sugarcane food containers are great options for restaurants and cafes leaning towards the green aesthetic. The green packaging can be easily bought from retailers physically and online, and are generally inexpensive compared to other types of sustainable food packaging.
3. Compostable Coffee Bean Bags
Coffee bags made from plastic materials can often mimic cardboard packaging and aluminum packaging, which are sustainable. However, if the coffee bean bags have a plastic liner in them, or are made of plastic completely, then these are no longer recyclable and sustainable.
Instead, reach for compostable bags that make use of no plastic liner. These bags are often made from paper, twine, or jute fabric, and can effectively keep coffee beans fresh from the first cup of joe to the last! These are also customizable with the logo of your brewery, so you can confidently present your product!
4. Eco-friendly Paper Cups
Little known fact is that the traditional paper cups we have are not actually recyclable. To keep liquids from soaking the cardboard and spilling out the contents, paper cups are typically lined with plastic, which makes paper cups nearly impossible to recycle as recycling facilities will need to separate the plastic liner and the paper material.
Search instead for a variety of eco-friendly paper cups that can be used for both hot and cold drinks. These are often made without liners, or using natural alternatives like coco fiber, and barley wheat leftover from beer-making processes to create cups that keep liquids well, but don’t harm the environment.
5. Edible Utensils
Plastic spoons and forks contribute to a substantial amount of waste in landfills, being impossible to biodegrade. A small company in India found a way to keep disposable utensils without the environmental distress of plastic materials. Instead, they used edible ingredients like wheat, barley, and others that create utensils that can be eaten after using.
Other companies followed suit, and there are now edible utensils made from wheat, dried pasta, and even cookies that you can get for your business. Even if your customer decides not to eat the utensils, these will biodegrade much faster than plastic utensils!
