If you’re like me, you are eating a lot more take-out these days (in the name of supporting small, local businesses, of course). So in honor of Earth Week, I’m sharing five tips on how to make your carry-out food experience as sustainable as possible.
1. Forgo the Condiment Packets –
Miniature portions of sauces wrapped in a generally non-recyclable plastic and foil package are just not planet-friendly, especially when billions of them are produced each year. To keep these bad boys from entering our landfills and waterways, just make a note when ordering and the restaurant won’t include them.
2. Reduce Your Meat Consumption –
We are not all ready to go vegan, and in my book, that is okay, because small tweaks to our diets can go a long way. For example, according to the a study by the World Resources Institute, simply swapping beef for chicken once every three times can reduce our diet’s environmental impact by 15%, and cutting meat/dairy/egg consumption by half can reduce our diet’s impact on the planet 50%. #MeatlessMonday anyone?
3. Walk or Bike to Pick-Up Your Order –
Slash your carbon footprint (and those pesky delivery fees) even more by walking or biking to pick-up your order. This can also count as a pre-meal workout – FYI. 🙂
4. Ditch the Plastic –
Just like the condiment packets, most restaurants will automatically throw in plastic utensils and straws in with your order. Just make a note when ordering to leave out the plastic cutlery and straws and use your own at home. Also, if given the option to “double-bag” your order, decline. Better yet, make a note to skip the bag altogether and bring your own.
5. Support Local Farmers –
You’re already supporting local business, why not help out local farmers too? You can do this by choosing a dish made with locally-sourced and in-season food.
Bonus: Refuse, Reduce, Recycle –
In light of the current Coronavirus pandemic, it is challenging to refuse food packaging and the waste that comes with it altogether, but bringing your own reusable containers to house carry-out orders will likely be possible again in the near future. In the meantime, don’t forget to recycle, or better yet compost, all materials that you can.
No action goes unnoticed by mother nature – so if you have another idea that should be added to this list, let me know in a comment!
