Reusable food service ware is a promising solution for reducing waste

IN less than two months, fast food restaurants in France will no longer be able to serve customers eating in-house with single-use containers. French fry cones and reusable glassware will have to become the norm. On the US West Coast, in the heart of Silicon Valley, an initiative is underway to encourage all local restaurant businesses to adopt this practice.

From January 1, 2023, all fast food outlets in France will have to serve in-house diners their burgers and fries in reusable dishes. While McDonald's has already been using new, more responsible packaging for the last three years -- with drinks lids made of paper fibers, recycled paper to wrap burgers, or by serving sparkling water directly in a cup and rather than providing a plastic bottle -- the American behemoth also last year tested serving its wares glass dishes and ceramic cones. About 10 restaurants in France trialed this reusable tableware.

On the US West Coast, the subject of pollution generated by single-use food service ware is also being taken very seriously.

Famously home to the Google headquarters, the small town of Mountain View in California has just partnered with a program of the American foundation Clear Water Action (which fights against the pollution of water resources) to encourage restaurant owners to use more reusable plates and bowls. Entitled "ReThink Disposable," the program is designed to help the municipality adopt reusable dishes as a new consumer habit.

Californian restaurant owners have been invited to participate in an experiment that will provide up to $300 worth of reusable food service ware. This is open to café managers, food truck owners and caterers, for example.

The "ReThink Disposable" program says it is eliminating 21 million items of disposable packaging a year by working with 251 California companies. In the US, packaging waste represents 30% of what Americans throw away. In a previous study, Clear Water Action revealed that 67% of the litter in commercial streets was made up of disposable food and drinks packaging.

These plates and cups that end up in the trash after just a few minutes' use are on the radar of many industries, including the airline industry. In 2019, Air France committed to eliminating 210 million single-use plastic items.

On board, while meal service utensils are reusable (but made of plastic), the cups used to serve hot drinks or water during short trips cannot be reused, since cardboard has been used to replace plastic.