Single-use vs. reusable containers in the takeout industry: which is better?
You’ve ordered your takeout from a restaurant who packs their food in compostable containers. You do a little celebratory dance thinking you’ve made an environmentally friendly decision, as you can dispose of that container responsibly after use. After all, it says compostable right on it! But, what if that choice isn’t as environmentally friendly as you thought? While it may seem hard to believe given the “compostable” label, you may not be doing the planet much of a favour. In this post, we’ll discuss why compostable, bioplastic-based takeout containers, despite being labelled as “green” are often landfilled and why reuse is a far superior option when it comes to packaging in the food services industry. But first, let’s identify a few underlying concepts.
Life cycle assessments
Life cycle assessments (LCAs) involve the quantification of the impact of a product, typically from an environmental perspective, over time. With this environmental lens, these assessments more specifically consider the impacts relating to greenhouse gas emissions from extraction, manufacturing, distribution, consumption, and end-of-life management of the product. In other words, from start to end of a product’s life, how much does it impact the earth from a greenhouse gas standpoint?
Types of containers
There are many different types of containers available within the food services industry. They include, to name a few, styrofoam, glass, paper, plastic, and reusable (like stainless steel or ceramic). A more recent entrant to the market has been bioplastic. Bioplastic-based single-use containers are widely touted as compostable, as they are made from plant-based materials such as polylactic acid (PLA), despite mimicking conventional plastics (hence the name “bioplastics). It is this option that we will be referencing in comparison to reusable options given it is widely marketed as being a “green” option for this reason. We will further refer to these bioplastic options as compostable single-use.
Break even points
When considering the difference between reusable and single-use products, break even points are a valuable metric. Simply put, they express the number of times that a reusable product must be reused to be more environmentally friendly than a single-use product. It often factors in all of the usual impacts from an LCA standpoint, with a major differentiator being dishwashing.
A note on recycling programs
Waste management is governed at the municipal level and every municipality is different. What is recyclable in one may not be recyclable in another. What is accepted in one city’s green bin may not be in another. This is one aspect that complicates the use of compostable single-use alternatives. There is no universal mandate in place to ensure that they are composted. In fact, according to research by the The Clean Water Fund and ReThink Disposable, compostable single-use food ware is composted very little in practice and is instead often destined for a landfill, yielding no greenhouse gas benefits when compared to traditional plastics like polyethylene terephthalate (PET). This was because very few compost facilities accept PLA food ware. Additionally, most compostable food ware does not compost within the 60 to 90 day cycling time used by commercial composters in municipalities that do accept them. When they do end up in landfills, compostable food ware actually has been shown to have higher greenhouse gas emissions than traditional plastic due to its higher emissions during production. This research is American-based, but you can find similar trends in Canada for bioplastics broadly and in Toronto, specifically, bioplastics are not accepted in green bins (source).
The final results
We’ll first take a look at the research on clamshells, as they are the most frequently utilized takeout container (if you’re unsure of what a clamshell it is, click here). According to research from the University of Berkley, as cited in The Clean Water Fund and ReThink Disposable’s round-up, reusable (polypropylene, in this case) clamshells had a lower life cycle impact after just 5.5 uses compared to a compostable clamshells (Harnarto, 2013).
For flatware, when comparing single-use spoons made from polystyrene or polypropylene to reusable stainless steel, stainless steel spoons needed to be used only twice to result in energy consumption equal to that of two polystyrene spoons.
For a complete look into the research, which also dives into hot and cold cups, plates and bowls, and water bottles, click here.
Also note that at Suppli, we’re in the process of conducting a complete LCA on our containers. We’re excited to share our findings with you when that study wraps up!
Conclusion
Even when considering the energy required for dishwashing, reusable takeout containers appear to be more environmentally friendly after just a few uses, compared to compostable single-use containers that are marketed as “green”. Similarly, reusable flatware is more environmentally friendly than traditional plastic cutlery. If you want to ditch single-use and join the circular, reuse economy in food service, create a free Suppli account! Suppli is a reusable takeout service that allows you to add reusable containers to your order from participating restaurants. When you’re done with them, you can simply rinse and walk your container over to one of our many return bins!
