Just Eat trials plastic-free takeaway boxes lined with seaweed

Just Eat will trial compostable takeaway boxes lined with seaweed at select London restaurants, a move which will prevent around 3,600 plastic boxes from entering the waste stream.


Just Eat trials plastic-free takeaway boxes lined with seaweed

It is estimated that 500 million plastic takeaway boxes are used across the UK takeaway industry annually

Just Eat has teamed up with the manufacturers Notpla, which had been supplying seaweed sachets for condiments for Just Eat, to trail seaweed-lined cardboard takeaway containers. The containers are made from tree & grass pulp with no synthetic additives.

The Notpla boxes will be trialled with three restaurant partners in London, a move that will prevent 3,600 plastic boxes from being used. The replacement boxes are fully recyclable and can also decompose in home composts in four weeks.

Just Eat UK’s managing director Andrew Kenny said: “At Just Eat, we are committed to using our scale and influence to drive a more sustainable future for the food delivery industry. From removing single-use plastics to pioneering the use of seaweed sauce sachets, we’ve already taken a number of positive steps to encourage more environmentally friendly behaviour among our restaurant partners.

“We’re delighted to bring this new takeaway box to trial and look forward to assessing the results with the aim to roll these boxes out across the UK and our other markets, so that customers across the globe can enjoy their favourite takeaways more sustainably.”

It is estimated that 500 million plastic takeaway boxes are used across the UK takeaway industry annually, many ending up in landfill even after reuse.

Just Eat has also revealed that using the Notpla seaweed sachets have stopped more than 46,000 plastic sachets from entering customer homes.

With more than 11 billion plastic condiment sachets sold globally, Just Eat has been assessing the feasibility of introducing the sachets – used for ketchup and garlic and herb dips – across its network of 29,000 UK restaurant partners.

Unilever’s – which is using pyrolysis to convert sachet waste into an industrial fuel – Hellmann’s brand has since partnered with Just Eat to trial sauce sachets made of seaweed in an attempt to reduce single-use plastics. The latest rollout expands on previous trials from Just Eat using the seaweed sachets.

As part of the trial, 65 Just Eat restaurant partners are offering a range of Hellmann’s ketchup, BBQ, tartare and garlic sauces served in the seaweed sachets. The sachets are developed by Notpla and form part of a wider commitment introduced in March 2018 to combat reliance on single-use plastics.

Lucozade Ribena Suntory (LRS) has also trialled the sachets, called Oohos and made by Skipping Rocks Labs, handing out more than 36,000 edible drinks at the London Marathon last year.

Matt Mace

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