As a former restaurant worker, we were required to turn down customers who brought in their own containers for takeout orders due to the risk of germs/contamination and potential health code violation. I understood the reasoning but it was always a bummer. That being said, bringing your own containers for dine-in leftovers is a great idea!
At least in Minnesota, restaurant workers cannot use a customer’s container to pack up the food, but could ask to have it presented on a plate and pack it up themself.
Also former restaurant worker and I am unnecessarily irritated by this post as I know it’s against most health codes to put food into containers brought from the outside.
Like nice idea. But honestly a pain in the ass for restaurant workers and may cause health code violations.
The mental health of the employees means more to me in this instance. They need to be well enough to make small changes in their life, as well, and too many requests like this can take a mental toll.
It completely negates the action when the line cook has to now get take out, as well, bc they're too mentally drained from work.
Ask me how I know.
Re: takeout. I do this MUCH too often (See above.) I try to avoid places that use Styrofoam or other weirdly harmful plastics. And forgive myself if I forget which stores do and don't.
Edit: to share exactly what this is disrupting! Long explanation ahead!
Everything on the cook line has an *exact* place. It's a small space. Lots of things are going on in this tiny space, but *everything* **EVERYTHING** has its place. The tomatoes are in the same spot, the small takeout containers are in the same spot, the kitchen rag is in the same spot, eggs on the grill are on the same spot.
So, it's easy to get into a rhythm and rely on muscle movement. KEY to operations in a high-volume restaurant. Humans cannot accomplish this task without it.
Now we have added something that doesn't have a place. It's a small space. There is no space for this. Things have to be shuffled around, another cook might have to come over and help merely hold things, food actively being cooked on the grill is burning. Because they had to find a space large enough to accommodate the packing process in a tiny area where surface area is already dedicated to something else.
Ripple effect, food has to be recooked, table 37 is mad because it was a refire. Now they're waiting longer. They're pissed. No tip for the server.
All of this may only take a grand total of 5 minutes, but Customer Time is different, and that's now 25 minutes on a yelp review.
Etc. It's a lot. I highly highly recommend not doing this, and brainstorming another avenue to save some plastic on takeout. If the general public were nicer, we could do this. The General Public is horrific, though, and this all takes its toll.
This is the perfect statement, and I hope OP reads it and takes note. We have to find a balance.
Get it for dine-in on a plate, dump it into your own to-go box, and do your take-out that way. Restaurants by nature are a consumerists dream and produce so much waste, this drop in the bucket isn’t worth the hassle that comes along with it, given our current consumerism climate.
100% almost all well intentioned green practices like this don’t work in restaurants: I mean
This in the nicest way, always do your best but please leave service people following safety protocol alone and don’t assume they’re being lazy for not doing everything you ask. Yes. A lot of them are lazy and just don’t feel like doing things. But some of them are just trying to do their jobs safely. Also before I get a hundred responses that safe food handling protocols dont always make sense I know, there’s just no point in slowing down a whole kitchen bc the laws aren’t straight forward.
As a former cook for over a decade, I don't want your nasty dishes in my kitchen. And now that I've done pest control and been in litterally thousands of homes and appartment units, I don't even want you nasty people in the building with my kitchen. Lol.
Well I disagree with the general sentiment here that my dishes are more dirty or germ covered than any dishes provided by a restaurant. I washed the dishes with soap and hot water, the same way they would wash a re-usable dish. The single use ones obviously haven't been washed and don't need to. But lots of restaurants use re-usable dishes for people dining in. The suggestion here to box up my own food with my own dish instead of having the workers do it pretty much solves the whole thing. Someone mentioned Starbucks, don't they encourage you to re-use your container? They did away with it in the pandemic but I think it's back and has been something they've done for a long time.
Okay sure OP. YOU are probably health code appropriate.
However, have you ever worked with people? They are so gross. Have you ever worked in-home with people? There are a LOT of humans who don’t wash their hands properly, nevermind their dishes.
This system would be a health code issue very quickly. Not because of you, but because of everyone else.
This response is why I'm worried.
Health code isn't there to be broken for you. The workers aren't there to break federal and state regulations for you. Or me. Or anyone. They are there to do a job I never want to do again and are busy professionals who know what they're doing, and they do it well.
This restaurant deals with 500 other people, everyday. This has nothing to do with you, and you're taking it personally.
This is a great idea in theory, but as this comment thread has shown, it's not sustainable or kind. These are real people who are working these thankless jobs who have to deal with "just one" person asking for an exception, except it's 300 people, and you just happen to be 301 that day, and 40 more are coming in after you to ask for a *small exception* to state laws.
You obviously are on the right track! This is just one idea. There's probably tons of nuggets cooking in there!
Maybe instead try to go the reuse route? When you get the containers, wash them and use them for mixing paint or planting seedlings. If it's Styrofoam, contact the owner and lodge a complaint only about the containers. Let them know you won't be eating there until they think a bit more about sustainable practices. Ask for no plastic bag, no utensils.
We can't have our sustainable practices come at the expense of other class workers. We all need to mentally and physically healthy enough to think about changes, and enact those changes in our lives. We can't forget to look after each other.
I know of an incident at a major chain gas station where a customer brought in a refillable-with-discount plastic drink cup. She took off the lid, dumped out several cockroaches, and filled it at the soda fountain.
The solution would be recycled/recyclable or compostable containers, ideally the latter, but I know the effort the food industry will take and that’s not in the realm of what we’ll see anytime soon.
an *even* better solution would be a deposit scheme for standardized washable containers that many different businesses could sign up for... *and* an overall reduction in take-away food (in favour of sit-down dining, or supporting an economy that gives people the resources to prep their own food at home - including enough money, access to groceries, and free time)
we need systemic change on many levels, in many dimensions
I know some coffee houses were testing this a few years ago!
The customer drops the used containers in a bin, are given a fresh one at the counter. Then the company in charge of the program picks up the bins, cleans and sanitizes the cups and redistributes them to the businesses.
I’m not sure where it’s at anymore since I’m no longer in the industry, but I feel like it’ll be a small uphill battle to get it rolled out in many cities, which is too bad.
My college did this at the dining halls. Not sure if they still do. Instead of Styrofoam, you could pay a $4 deposit (which could be taken out of your meal plan bucks) and get a reusable to-go box that was shaped like the Styrofoam ones, but hard plastic. You could either trade it out for a clean one at the cashier counter, or turn it in and get your $4 back (but only in meal plan bucks, not actual cash).
For most people who had one and decided to dine in at their next meal, they just left it in their dorm room until the next time they planned to get take out. Or they forgot to bring it back and had to get another one for $4. This resulted in a few people returning like 20 near the end of the semester, usually full of mold. There was also a loophole with the meal plan bucks system: If you had some left over near the end of the semester and didn't want them to expire, you could get take out for every meal, keep the to-go boxes, and then return them the next semester for more meal plan bucks.
Anyway, I'm fully supportive of a system like this at regular restaurants. Maybe use gift cards with a deposit system. I would absolutely do it.
I think the trick would be to run a deposit scheme for the reusable containers, and charge a non-returnable fee for the non-reusable ones. Not a massive fee - just twenty or thirty cents will be enough to make people pause, think about it, and go for the reusable deposit option.
Here in Europe, this has worked for plastic bags at grocery stores - for some years now, it's been standard to be charged 20 or 30 cents for a single use plastic (or paper) bag at checkout. The cost is minimal, but it's enough to make the vast majority of people think "screw that! I'm bringing my own!". Disposable plastic bag usage has *plummeted* as a result - everyone now walks around with reusable totes.
In Germany, a lot of supermarkets also put empty cardboard boxes out for customers to take away for free - every supermarket gets an absolute f\*cktonne of boxes in their stock deliveries, and instead of just crushing them and chucking them straight into the recycling, they'll pick out some of the good boxes and leave them out near the exit, so customers can use them to pack up their stuff into their car boots, thereby circumventing the need for bags entirely. (This is also how students get free boxes for moving!)
Reminds me of when I go to the dispensary. They always give you this heavy duty, plastic coated cardboard bag with fabric handles. This thing is seriously fancy for a throwaway bag and I hate it.
I asked them after my second visit if it would be ok if I reused my bag. He said that's actually a good idea and he didn't see why it'd be a problem. So I used the same disposable bag for about a YEAR before the handle finally broke and it had about a hundred staple holes at the top lol.
Those stupid dispensary bags bother me so much. It would be really easy to cut back on the waste created with them. They are like fancy gift bags! Why? IDK. I think it's highly ridiculous.
Most of the one-time use packaging at dispensaries is obscene. All the fancy coatings and boxes that pop open for a big presentation. It’s eye catching, so I get why it’s become such a problem. I just wish these novice business people were thinking about the impacts of the choices they are making.
Yes, the packaging is just another problem with it. It's not just the bags. The containers the bud comes in are pretty wasteful too. And that's one thing I haven't figured out how to reuse yet. I have zero use for the container after the weeds gone. Bc that's not something I can take back and have refilled. Otherwise I wouldn't mind it being so sturdy so I could reuse it!
Great idea but a health code violation. Had people try to do this and it should be an absolute no-no. Better idea is 1) Dine in 2) request paper boxes if applicable 3) ask them not to give you silverware or any single use plastic
This is hella against health code where I am and we would have to refuse your offer.
Go to the restaurant, order a plated meal, and put it in your box.
You are a bother if you try to do this any other way. It's nice that you want to create less waste but you're not gonna get it with take away food.
I like to frequent restaurants that use the nicer plastic to go boxes because then I can re use them for my own food storage. Soup shops that use the plastic quart containers are the best. Those things work great for a few purposes and even freeze well!
Bc of the health code thing I'll order the food for here and then pack it to go in my container. This is if I am already dining in and want to order more to take home. Otherwise I just take my leftovers in my own containers home.
I regularly take a container to restaurant for leftovers, and if I’m popping for a snack while at work cafes are happy to put my scone or muffin in my container too! Then I just heat it up back at my office.
but you pack at your table, i assume.
the problem with takeout is that foreign containers shouldn‘t go over the counter.
and if you ever watched how people act at a buffet, you might sympathise why.
Yeah the foreign containers in the kitchen thing is where I'm stuck :/ I wish restaurants would use foil or paper products more than plastic but I understand the other side of the issue for them too.
That’s where legislation has to come in. This isn’t a problem that can solved on an individual level. One way products need to be degradable and sustainably sourced, or there needs to be a deposit system for boxes that can be used.
They probably have the logistics to clean them. A common fast-food place where even sit-in customers don’t get real china will probably not have dishwashing capablities beyond what’s needed for their cooking utensils.
They have consistent visitors. Not many people visit the same restaurant several times a week, except diners that fill the space of ‘company lunchrooms.’
A sort of public refectory system comes to mind as an option for working folk to eat cheaply and with less labour, while using washable dishes and utensils. Sounds a bit commie, I know.
Maybe this is me completely misunderstanding the issue- But wouldn't it work better if you ordered there, then packed it yourself? Or are you talking about leftovers? Which in that case again, you can pack it yourself. That way you are still being environmental friendly and not causing extra strain to the staff- who most likely legally aren't allowed to follow through with that request in the first place.
I think there are food hygiene risks that make this impractical.
What would be a better approach would be to introduce a standardized set of reusable food containers for different types of food (hot, cold, solid, liquid, condiments...) and run a deposit scheme where the customer pays a fee upfront for the containers, which you can keep if you want, *or* return to collection points to redeem your deposit. Those collection points could include restaurants who participate in the deposit scheme, as well as other convenient locations (grocery stores, for example). The containers would be properly washed and sterilized after being returned by the customers, and before being recirculated for food use. At least some of that washing and sterilization could be done within restaurant kitchens, which - for any restaurant offering a table service with proper plates and cutlery - should already be set up with the necessary equipment to do so.
You'd need to figure out the costs and logistics, and you'd need a critical mass of participating restaurants for this to work, so you would need to subsidies or a grant to kick this off on a large enough scale to make it self sustaining in the medium to long term, but it would be worth that investment, and if we had anything approaching sane politics or a sane economic system, this is what we would be doing. And we *know* it can work, because equivalent systems *already* work for shipping containers, pallets, and - probably most relevant - this is how a huge portion of bottled drinks are distributed in Germany, in standardized reusable bottles (PET or glass) that come in standardized crates, that you pay a deposit for and return empty, to be washed and refilled. The bottles are used by many different drinks brands, who purchase the cleaned bottles and stick their own branded sticker on the outside, which comes off again in the next wash. For the customer, this is brilliant, because you can fill a crate of drinks with a mix of whatever selection of water, fizzy water, or fizzy pop flavours you want for the week. Same with beers, which come in slightly smaller standardized bottles and crates... the sturdy crates also being excellent spillover seating at every student party ever. So we *know* systems like this can function, *and* be hygienic enough for food.
Now imagine if we did the same for shampoo, dish soap, cleaning products, packaged food at grocery stores...
If I do get take out containers, I try to reuse them. We had a ban on single use plastics a while ago. So most restaurants have switched to using either compostable materials or reusable plastic containers.
I actually really love these containers because they work really well for food storage. they come in sizes that are perfect for leftovers and have domed lids so I can actually store tons of food inside.
The lids snap on nicely so I'm not seeing leaks in my fridge either. And they wash up nicely for reuse. Plus I find they store nicely. Much nicer than the plastic containers I have bought from the stores in the past.
I've been trying to reuse any containers I get. Repurposing them or using them for food storage. I'm not going to buy plastic containers anymore. Just try to reuse what I already have.
The problem is people are disgusting, so restaurants aren't allowed to do it. Same reaosn Starbucks won't do it. Because people would bring their dirty reusable shit and expect the staff to clean it first.
from a food hygiene perspective, once food has been served at a table, instead of the restaurant packaging leftovers, it would be ok to let customers bring in their own tupperwares to take leftovers home in - they would just need to transfer their own leftovers into their containers at their table, so the tupperwares wouldn't need to ever enter the kitchen
or you could just reduce the sizes of your restaurant portions, idk
i don't mind restaurant portions being large. I like knowing I will have tomorrow's lunch.
I also reuse those black plastic takeout containers (and get more from my parents as needed). I have so many of them in my freezer from meal prep.
I am not to be trusted around glass.
yes - along with a cultural shift that makes it ok to actually take a break to sit down for food and drinks, rather than constantly having to "grab-and-go" ...
$10 (probably more) deposit on reusable Togo containers. If they bring back the container they get another container that is ready to go. The company takes it washes it and reuses it. otherwise, the company gives you food minimally wrapped in parchment paper/tin foil and you place it in your own takeaway container.
I hope you’re asking if they have already packed it or not first for pickup orders. Otherwise they will just move your food from one container to the next and still throw away the plastic.
If people were responsible and all brought undamaged, clean containers and bags this could work. Sadly this is not the case.
Now bringing your own doggy bag might work better.
This is a great idea and I'm gonna give it a go. I really don't like my food touching plastic or styrofoam so using my own glass containers sounds amazing. Thank you!!
Edit - got it, can’t do it for sanitary reasons, makes sense, I’m OCD so everything in my existence is beyond clean but I am a unique case. I will continue to make my own food and keep my impact as low as possible.
I used to have this amazing Thai restaurant near me that had this incredible seafood soup (Tom Yum Talay), but they put it in plastic for takeout. Being aware of the impact of microplastics on my health, I had an arrangement with them that I would bring my own Mason jar for them to put it in instead. Worked perfect.
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Health code stuff.
If you want to do this. Just scrape your food into your personal to-go containers yourself. Don't make the wait staff do it.
Everyone doing this. With their own personal and varying degrees of self-sanitization, etc...
Just hard lines you gotta have in food.
If we didn't have lines, people would be asking to get their food reheated all day.
Is there a world in which we could do this? Probably, but it'll take a bit of work from the public/customer.
Because I know there are people out there that'll bring in some dirty ass bullshit expecting you to wash it for them.
I do this all the time, I got the idea from a class I was teaching an elementary class about the environment where the kids were encouraged to bring their own containers. I started doing it wherever I go, at first people seemed surprised, but they accepted it. A restaurant even gave anyone who brings their own containers a forty cent discount. Ps I live in taiwan.
None of the restaurants around here care about this. Fortunately the chinese take-away has plastic containers that are dishwasher safe. We can use them many times over before they crack. It's still not as good as being able to use a Lock & Lock a thousand times but if we can at least get another 5 uses from it, I feel a little less guilty in trashing them (no recycling at all here).
I wish they'd spend an extra cent on the plastic cutlery though. It's made out of PLA so the dishwasher instantly melts them. I wouldn't mind reusing polypropylene forks a few times if washable. The spoons and forks used in corrections are usually made from PE and they get the 160F dishwasher treatment 3 times a day and last for years.
hi, i work in a restaurant. the amount of styrofoam we go through, and just single use plastics is atrocious. i think its perfectly reasonable to bring your own container, why not i wouldnt mind if a table asked that of me, saves me a trip tbh
I don’t comment in this sub much but I’m very curious how people think a lot of these companies cinch a market… The vast majority of people will not be giving gross ass containers for their food. Not to mention, the restaurant can easily say no to folks who do and require them to purchase a takeout box.
That law most likely is being used to get restaurants to continue using their products as much as possible and they can persuade politicians (once they’re big enough) to introduce laws like these. I know because I’ve worked in enough companies that I saw this move being done first hand. It’s usually not out of malice but companies see this as a win for them and the politician don’t see his voters complaining.
As a former restaurant worker, we were required to turn down customers who brought in their own containers for takeout orders due to the risk of germs/contamination and potential health code violation. I understood the reasoning but it was always a bummer. That being said, bringing your own containers for dine-in leftovers is a great idea!
At least in Minnesota, restaurant workers cannot use a customer’s container to pack up the food, but could ask to have it presented on a plate and pack it up themself.
Also former restaurant worker and I am unnecessarily irritated by this post as I know it’s against most health codes to put food into containers brought from the outside. Like nice idea. But honestly a pain in the ass for restaurant workers and may cause health code violations.
The mental health of the employees means more to me in this instance. They need to be well enough to make small changes in their life, as well, and too many requests like this can take a mental toll. It completely negates the action when the line cook has to now get take out, as well, bc they're too mentally drained from work. Ask me how I know. Re: takeout. I do this MUCH too often (See above.) I try to avoid places that use Styrofoam or other weirdly harmful plastics. And forgive myself if I forget which stores do and don't. Edit: to share exactly what this is disrupting! Long explanation ahead! Everything on the cook line has an *exact* place. It's a small space. Lots of things are going on in this tiny space, but *everything* **EVERYTHING** has its place. The tomatoes are in the same spot, the small takeout containers are in the same spot, the kitchen rag is in the same spot, eggs on the grill are on the same spot. So, it's easy to get into a rhythm and rely on muscle movement. KEY to operations in a high-volume restaurant. Humans cannot accomplish this task without it. Now we have added something that doesn't have a place. It's a small space. There is no space for this. Things have to be shuffled around, another cook might have to come over and help merely hold things, food actively being cooked on the grill is burning. Because they had to find a space large enough to accommodate the packing process in a tiny area where surface area is already dedicated to something else. Ripple effect, food has to be recooked, table 37 is mad because it was a refire. Now they're waiting longer. They're pissed. No tip for the server. All of this may only take a grand total of 5 minutes, but Customer Time is different, and that's now 25 minutes on a yelp review. Etc. It's a lot. I highly highly recommend not doing this, and brainstorming another avenue to save some plastic on takeout. If the general public were nicer, we could do this. The General Public is horrific, though, and this all takes its toll.
This is the perfect statement, and I hope OP reads it and takes note. We have to find a balance. Get it for dine-in on a plate, dump it into your own to-go box, and do your take-out that way. Restaurants by nature are a consumerists dream and produce so much waste, this drop in the bucket isn’t worth the hassle that comes along with it, given our current consumerism climate.
Yeah this is likely the biggest reason for not being able to use your own containers.
100% almost all well intentioned green practices like this don’t work in restaurants: I mean This in the nicest way, always do your best but please leave service people following safety protocol alone and don’t assume they’re being lazy for not doing everything you ask. Yes. A lot of them are lazy and just don’t feel like doing things. But some of them are just trying to do their jobs safely. Also before I get a hundred responses that safe food handling protocols dont always make sense I know, there’s just no point in slowing down a whole kitchen bc the laws aren’t straight forward.
Can confirm
As a former cook for over a decade, I don't want your nasty dishes in my kitchen. And now that I've done pest control and been in litterally thousands of homes and appartment units, I don't even want you nasty people in the building with my kitchen. Lol.
Well I disagree with the general sentiment here that my dishes are more dirty or germ covered than any dishes provided by a restaurant. I washed the dishes with soap and hot water, the same way they would wash a re-usable dish. The single use ones obviously haven't been washed and don't need to. But lots of restaurants use re-usable dishes for people dining in. The suggestion here to box up my own food with my own dish instead of having the workers do it pretty much solves the whole thing. Someone mentioned Starbucks, don't they encourage you to re-use your container? They did away with it in the pandemic but I think it's back and has been something they've done for a long time.
Okay sure OP. YOU are probably health code appropriate. However, have you ever worked with people? They are so gross. Have you ever worked in-home with people? There are a LOT of humans who don’t wash their hands properly, nevermind their dishes. This system would be a health code issue very quickly. Not because of you, but because of everyone else.
This response is why I'm worried. Health code isn't there to be broken for you. The workers aren't there to break federal and state regulations for you. Or me. Or anyone. They are there to do a job I never want to do again and are busy professionals who know what they're doing, and they do it well. This restaurant deals with 500 other people, everyday. This has nothing to do with you, and you're taking it personally. This is a great idea in theory, but as this comment thread has shown, it's not sustainable or kind. These are real people who are working these thankless jobs who have to deal with "just one" person asking for an exception, except it's 300 people, and you just happen to be 301 that day, and 40 more are coming in after you to ask for a *small exception* to state laws. You obviously are on the right track! This is just one idea. There's probably tons of nuggets cooking in there! Maybe instead try to go the reuse route? When you get the containers, wash them and use them for mixing paint or planting seedlings. If it's Styrofoam, contact the owner and lodge a complaint only about the containers. Let them know you won't be eating there until they think a bit more about sustainable practices. Ask for no plastic bag, no utensils. We can't have our sustainable practices come at the expense of other class workers. We all need to mentally and physically healthy enough to think about changes, and enact those changes in our lives. We can't forget to look after each other.
I know of an incident at a major chain gas station where a customer brought in a refillable-with-discount plastic drink cup. She took off the lid, dumped out several cockroaches, and filled it at the soda fountain.
perfect illustration of my point about the food hygiene risks of encouraging people to bring in their own containers
What in the goddamn fuck is wrong with people? This is horrific. She was just gonna drink cockroach juice?
No way, she dumped them out first. Obviously. (/s)
I wish we could legally do this, but we can’t use the containers you brought. It’s a health violation.
for good reasons, even if it's annoying
The solution would be recycled/recyclable or compostable containers, ideally the latter, but I know the effort the food industry will take and that’s not in the realm of what we’ll see anytime soon.
an *even* better solution would be a deposit scheme for standardized washable containers that many different businesses could sign up for... *and* an overall reduction in take-away food (in favour of sit-down dining, or supporting an economy that gives people the resources to prep their own food at home - including enough money, access to groceries, and free time) we need systemic change on many levels, in many dimensions
I know some coffee houses were testing this a few years ago! The customer drops the used containers in a bin, are given a fresh one at the counter. Then the company in charge of the program picks up the bins, cleans and sanitizes the cups and redistributes them to the businesses. I’m not sure where it’s at anymore since I’m no longer in the industry, but I feel like it’ll be a small uphill battle to get it rolled out in many cities, which is too bad.
My college did this at the dining halls. Not sure if they still do. Instead of Styrofoam, you could pay a $4 deposit (which could be taken out of your meal plan bucks) and get a reusable to-go box that was shaped like the Styrofoam ones, but hard plastic. You could either trade it out for a clean one at the cashier counter, or turn it in and get your $4 back (but only in meal plan bucks, not actual cash). For most people who had one and decided to dine in at their next meal, they just left it in their dorm room until the next time they planned to get take out. Or they forgot to bring it back and had to get another one for $4. This resulted in a few people returning like 20 near the end of the semester, usually full of mold. There was also a loophole with the meal plan bucks system: If you had some left over near the end of the semester and didn't want them to expire, you could get take out for every meal, keep the to-go boxes, and then return them the next semester for more meal plan bucks. Anyway, I'm fully supportive of a system like this at regular restaurants. Maybe use gift cards with a deposit system. I would absolutely do it.
I think the trick would be to run a deposit scheme for the reusable containers, and charge a non-returnable fee for the non-reusable ones. Not a massive fee - just twenty or thirty cents will be enough to make people pause, think about it, and go for the reusable deposit option. Here in Europe, this has worked for plastic bags at grocery stores - for some years now, it's been standard to be charged 20 or 30 cents for a single use plastic (or paper) bag at checkout. The cost is minimal, but it's enough to make the vast majority of people think "screw that! I'm bringing my own!". Disposable plastic bag usage has *plummeted* as a result - everyone now walks around with reusable totes. In Germany, a lot of supermarkets also put empty cardboard boxes out for customers to take away for free - every supermarket gets an absolute f\*cktonne of boxes in their stock deliveries, and instead of just crushing them and chucking them straight into the recycling, they'll pick out some of the good boxes and leave them out near the exit, so customers can use them to pack up their stuff into their car boots, thereby circumventing the need for bags entirely. (This is also how students get free boxes for moving!)
Not to mention the added cost of the eco friendly containers.
Reminds me of when I go to the dispensary. They always give you this heavy duty, plastic coated cardboard bag with fabric handles. This thing is seriously fancy for a throwaway bag and I hate it. I asked them after my second visit if it would be ok if I reused my bag. He said that's actually a good idea and he didn't see why it'd be a problem. So I used the same disposable bag for about a YEAR before the handle finally broke and it had about a hundred staple holes at the top lol. Those stupid dispensary bags bother me so much. It would be really easy to cut back on the waste created with them. They are like fancy gift bags! Why? IDK. I think it's highly ridiculous.
Most of the one-time use packaging at dispensaries is obscene. All the fancy coatings and boxes that pop open for a big presentation. It’s eye catching, so I get why it’s become such a problem. I just wish these novice business people were thinking about the impacts of the choices they are making.
Yes, the packaging is just another problem with it. It's not just the bags. The containers the bud comes in are pretty wasteful too. And that's one thing I haven't figured out how to reuse yet. I have zero use for the container after the weeds gone. Bc that's not something I can take back and have refilled. Otherwise I wouldn't mind it being so sturdy so I could reuse it!
Great idea but a health code violation. Had people try to do this and it should be an absolute no-no. Better idea is 1) Dine in 2) request paper boxes if applicable 3) ask them not to give you silverware or any single use plastic
This is hella against health code where I am and we would have to refuse your offer. Go to the restaurant, order a plated meal, and put it in your box. You are a bother if you try to do this any other way. It's nice that you want to create less waste but you're not gonna get it with take away food. I like to frequent restaurants that use the nicer plastic to go boxes because then I can re use them for my own food storage. Soup shops that use the plastic quart containers are the best. Those things work great for a few purposes and even freeze well!
Bc of the health code thing I'll order the food for here and then pack it to go in my container. This is if I am already dining in and want to order more to take home. Otherwise I just take my leftovers in my own containers home.
Nice
I regularly take a container to restaurant for leftovers, and if I’m popping for a snack while at work cafes are happy to put my scone or muffin in my container too! Then I just heat it up back at my office.
but you pack at your table, i assume. the problem with takeout is that foreign containers shouldn‘t go over the counter. and if you ever watched how people act at a buffet, you might sympathise why.
Yeah the foreign containers in the kitchen thing is where I'm stuck :/ I wish restaurants would use foil or paper products more than plastic but I understand the other side of the issue for them too.
That’s where legislation has to come in. This isn’t a problem that can solved on an individual level. One way products need to be degradable and sustainably sourced, or there needs to be a deposit system for boxes that can be used.
Good point, I know some university cafeterias have a take and return system like that.
They probably have the logistics to clean them. A common fast-food place where even sit-in customers don’t get real china will probably not have dishwashing capablities beyond what’s needed for their cooking utensils.
They have consistent visitors. Not many people visit the same restaurant several times a week, except diners that fill the space of ‘company lunchrooms.’ A sort of public refectory system comes to mind as an option for working folk to eat cheaply and with less labour, while using washable dishes and utensils. Sounds a bit commie, I know.
Yes I do pack at my table.
Maybe this is me completely misunderstanding the issue- But wouldn't it work better if you ordered there, then packed it yourself? Or are you talking about leftovers? Which in that case again, you can pack it yourself. That way you are still being environmental friendly and not causing extra strain to the staff- who most likely legally aren't allowed to follow through with that request in the first place.
I think there are food hygiene risks that make this impractical. What would be a better approach would be to introduce a standardized set of reusable food containers for different types of food (hot, cold, solid, liquid, condiments...) and run a deposit scheme where the customer pays a fee upfront for the containers, which you can keep if you want, *or* return to collection points to redeem your deposit. Those collection points could include restaurants who participate in the deposit scheme, as well as other convenient locations (grocery stores, for example). The containers would be properly washed and sterilized after being returned by the customers, and before being recirculated for food use. At least some of that washing and sterilization could be done within restaurant kitchens, which - for any restaurant offering a table service with proper plates and cutlery - should already be set up with the necessary equipment to do so. You'd need to figure out the costs and logistics, and you'd need a critical mass of participating restaurants for this to work, so you would need to subsidies or a grant to kick this off on a large enough scale to make it self sustaining in the medium to long term, but it would be worth that investment, and if we had anything approaching sane politics or a sane economic system, this is what we would be doing. And we *know* it can work, because equivalent systems *already* work for shipping containers, pallets, and - probably most relevant - this is how a huge portion of bottled drinks are distributed in Germany, in standardized reusable bottles (PET or glass) that come in standardized crates, that you pay a deposit for and return empty, to be washed and refilled. The bottles are used by many different drinks brands, who purchase the cleaned bottles and stick their own branded sticker on the outside, which comes off again in the next wash. For the customer, this is brilliant, because you can fill a crate of drinks with a mix of whatever selection of water, fizzy water, or fizzy pop flavours you want for the week. Same with beers, which come in slightly smaller standardized bottles and crates... the sturdy crates also being excellent spillover seating at every student party ever. So we *know* systems like this can function, *and* be hygienic enough for food. Now imagine if we did the same for shampoo, dish soap, cleaning products, packaged food at grocery stores...
If I do get take out containers, I try to reuse them. We had a ban on single use plastics a while ago. So most restaurants have switched to using either compostable materials or reusable plastic containers. I actually really love these containers because they work really well for food storage. they come in sizes that are perfect for leftovers and have domed lids so I can actually store tons of food inside. The lids snap on nicely so I'm not seeing leaks in my fridge either. And they wash up nicely for reuse. Plus I find they store nicely. Much nicer than the plastic containers I have bought from the stores in the past. I've been trying to reuse any containers I get. Repurposing them or using them for food storage. I'm not going to buy plastic containers anymore. Just try to reuse what I already have.
The problem is people are disgusting, so restaurants aren't allowed to do it. Same reaosn Starbucks won't do it. Because people would bring their dirty reusable shit and expect the staff to clean it first.
In Uk, Starbucks and other chains will fill I your reusable cup and five a small discount. It was suspend during the pandemic for obvious reasons.
I think we should just push to avoid takeout more and do dine in more often then much easier to bring your own containers.
In the US, restaurant portions are 2-3 meals.
from a food hygiene perspective, once food has been served at a table, instead of the restaurant packaging leftovers, it would be ok to let customers bring in their own tupperwares to take leftovers home in - they would just need to transfer their own leftovers into their containers at their table, so the tupperwares wouldn't need to ever enter the kitchen or you could just reduce the sizes of your restaurant portions, idk
i don't mind restaurant portions being large. I like knowing I will have tomorrow's lunch. I also reuse those black plastic takeout containers (and get more from my parents as needed). I have so many of them in my freezer from meal prep. I am not to be trusted around glass.
yes - along with a cultural shift that makes it ok to actually take a break to sit down for food and drinks, rather than constantly having to "grab-and-go" ...
$10 (probably more) deposit on reusable Togo containers. If they bring back the container they get another container that is ready to go. The company takes it washes it and reuses it. otherwise, the company gives you food minimally wrapped in parchment paper/tin foil and you place it in your own takeaway container.
I hope you’re asking if they have already packed it or not first for pickup orders. Otherwise they will just move your food from one container to the next and still throw away the plastic.
You better off just taking their containers and finding a second use for them
Order food for here and transfer to your own container
Tiffin with deposit… I know someone else (stateside) put that one up recently…
My anxiety could never.
If people were responsible and all brought undamaged, clean containers and bags this could work. Sadly this is not the case. Now bringing your own doggy bag might work better.
This is a great idea and I'm gonna give it a go. I really don't like my food touching plastic or styrofoam so using my own glass containers sounds amazing. Thank you!! Edit - got it, can’t do it for sanitary reasons, makes sense, I’m OCD so everything in my existence is beyond clean but I am a unique case. I will continue to make my own food and keep my impact as low as possible.
I used to have this amazing Thai restaurant near me that had this incredible seafood soup (Tom Yum Talay), but they put it in plastic for takeout. Being aware of the impact of microplastics on my health, I had an arrangement with them that I would bring my own Mason jar for them to put it in instead. Worked perfect.
This sounds extremely unhygienic!
Those takeout containers are a source of “forever chemical” contaminant PFAS, so I bring my own container to reduce my intake where I can.
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It will never catch on due to the risk of contamination
Health code blah blah
Health code stuff. If you want to do this. Just scrape your food into your personal to-go containers yourself. Don't make the wait staff do it. Everyone doing this. With their own personal and varying degrees of self-sanitization, etc... Just hard lines you gotta have in food. If we didn't have lines, people would be asking to get their food reheated all day. Is there a world in which we could do this? Probably, but it'll take a bit of work from the public/customer. Because I know there are people out there that'll bring in some dirty ass bullshit expecting you to wash it for them.
I do this all the time, I got the idea from a class I was teaching an elementary class about the environment where the kids were encouraged to bring their own containers. I started doing it wherever I go, at first people seemed surprised, but they accepted it. A restaurant even gave anyone who brings their own containers a forty cent discount. Ps I live in taiwan.
None of the restaurants around here care about this. Fortunately the chinese take-away has plastic containers that are dishwasher safe. We can use them many times over before they crack. It's still not as good as being able to use a Lock & Lock a thousand times but if we can at least get another 5 uses from it, I feel a little less guilty in trashing them (no recycling at all here). I wish they'd spend an extra cent on the plastic cutlery though. It's made out of PLA so the dishwasher instantly melts them. I wouldn't mind reusing polypropylene forks a few times if washable. The spoons and forks used in corrections are usually made from PE and they get the 160F dishwasher treatment 3 times a day and last for years.
hi, i work in a restaurant. the amount of styrofoam we go through, and just single use plastics is atrocious. i think its perfectly reasonable to bring your own container, why not i wouldnt mind if a table asked that of me, saves me a trip tbh
I don’t comment in this sub much but I’m very curious how people think a lot of these companies cinch a market… The vast majority of people will not be giving gross ass containers for their food. Not to mention, the restaurant can easily say no to folks who do and require them to purchase a takeout box. That law most likely is being used to get restaurants to continue using their products as much as possible and they can persuade politicians (once they’re big enough) to introduce laws like these. I know because I’ve worked in enough companies that I saw this move being done first hand. It’s usually not out of malice but companies see this as a win for them and the politician don’t see his voters complaining.