Food delivery company Just Eat Takeaway has made a major update for its 41,000 restaurant partners in Germany, introducing plastic-free packaging for takeout food.
Lieferando, as Just Eat is known as in Germany, is working with British eco materials startup Xampla and Finnish packaging giant Huhtamaki to create the plastic-free containers, according to a report from Green Queen. The new ones will be lined with Morro, Xampla's 100% biobased plastic and PFAS-free lining.
The containers, made by Huhtamaki from sustainably sourced corrugated paper, are fully recyclable and, when coated with Morro, hold up to greasy and oily foods without any plastic, allowing companies to avoid single-use plastic regulations around the world.
"Morro Coating is designed to seamlessly integrate into existing packaging processes, offering a powerful alternative to plastic. Together, we are setting a new standard for environmentally responsible food packaging," Xampla CEO Alexandra French told the outlet.
By eliminating plastic, which is produced through dirty energy, these companies are helping cut down on pollution, which is crucial since the food delivery/takeout industry is growing at a 10.3% compound annual growth rate, per Grandview Research.
That's a lot of containers that often go unrecycled because of the thin layer of plastic coating the inside, as Republic Services explained. That adds to the problem of only 38% of cardboard being recycled annually, per Bloomberg. With the biodegradable coating, the Just Eat packaging makes understanding recycling much easier and doable.
It also limits the amount of exposure you have to plastics and PFAS, often known as forever chemicals. The Washington Post reported on a study from last year that of the approximately 14,000 known chemicals in food packaging, about 25% have been found in the human body. PFAS have been linked to long-term health effects, as have microplastics.
"We are committed to making responsible choices that not only benefit our partners and consumers, but also contribute positively to the planet, and we're looking forward to working with Xampla to encourage more partners to adopt plastic-free packaging," Jaz Rabadia, global sustainability head at Just Eat Takeaway, told Green Queen.
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