Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
Use recycled and/or recycled packaging
 
Packaging is a real issue.  On the one hand, it is necessary to help protect food and keep it safe. On the other hand it is often made out of dreaded plastic, is only single-use and cannot be recycled, therefore ending up in landfill, or worse, in our rivers and seas. 
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Street food traders have a particular challenge here as they need to give their food away in something the customer can eat from easily, but many food businesses will offer takeaways or doggy bags 
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Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Waste 
Your food business is capable of generating a phenomenal amount of food and non-food waste. This can lead to landfill pile-ups, water pollution and contribute to the generation of greenhouse gases. The impact is huge, and the catering industry has a significant part to play. According to WRAP the UK Hospitality & Food Service generates 2.87 million tonnes of waste each year of which only 46% is recycled; roughly 1.9 million tonnes of food is wasted by the food industry every year.    
Not only are all of the resources that went into creating this plastic wasted - land, water, labour, energy, manufacturing, packaging - but when things are wasted and not recycled, they go to the landfill, or end up in our rivers and seas.  What's more, food waste creates methane, which is 23 times more deadly than carbon dioxide. 
And on top of that, waste costs the catering industry £2.5 billion! This is like throwing money in the bin.  Reducing, reusing and recycling makes economic sense. 
As with all the actions on this charter, once you start doing something about it, you can shout about it to your customers.  People want to know their favourite eatery is taking action on these important issues, so cash in on the movement! 
Download our charter support pack for more info, and check out the links below
