Part 2 – Takeout and Delivery
Back near the beginning of the pandemic, when restaurants began shutting down for dine-in, and grocery stores started banning reusable bags, several of my friends were asking me what I was doing in those situations. I was incredibly flattered when one of my best friends said she had a “what would Ali do?” moment. The truth is that I have been struggling with these things myself because when public health becomes a factor, it’s harder to make what would otherwise be relatively simple choices.
My previous Plastic-Free July[1] and Zero-Waste Lent[2] challenges were each a comparative piece of cake because I could buy in bulk with my own containers or take reusable mugs to coffee shops. Those things are, understandably, not options at the moment. I would love to say that I’ve gotten creative, but mostly I’ve just been cutting back back: opting out of meals from certain restaurants and foregoing certain ingredients when grocery shopping.
Plastic, Plastic Everywhere
Plastic bag and plastic packaging bans were picking up momentum across the country in late 2019. Nine states had enacted statewide plastic bag bans, and in many states and cities, bans of plastic straws, utensils, and Styrofoam packaging were either proposed or already in place. However, most, if not all, of this legislation was put on hold in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak at the beginning of 2020 because of concerns around transmission on surfaces. The Plastics Industry Association was a big supporter of rolling back these bans in the name of safety.[4] We probably will not see movement on any of those bans again until we have a vaccine widely available.
On top of health concerns related to coronavirus transmission, we know that single-use plastics are significantly cheaper than more environmentally-friendly alternatives. I mentioned in last week’s post the privilege of being able to say that I’m not going to get food from anywhere that doesn’t have plastic packaging. I recognize that Styrofoam is cheap, and truly biodegradable packaging that is sturdy enough not to leak is a cost that most struggling restaurants can’t afford right now. Sure, they could pass that extra price on to the consumer, but many consumers worried about keeping their jobs or staying in their homes aren’t exactly ready or able to spend extra to protect the environment at the moment.
I have not one, but two, drawers of silverware that I can use to eat dinner. What is the logic behind including single-use plastic forks in a delivery to a home?
(And why can’t I opt out of it on your app?)
About a month or so ago, we got takeout from a local Indian-Nepalese restaurant we hadn’t been to in a while. I asked the man who took my order over the phone to confirm – twice – that they didn’t use any Styrofoam in their packaging. He assured me they did not; he said they had boxes. When I went to pick up the food, it was waiting for me in a big stack of Styrofoam clamshells. I was sad but not altogether surprised. I certainly didn’t take it out on the man who put my order together, but I do recognize that by choosing not to go there in the future, I am still hurting their business.
And even if they’d had the type of to-go box I was envisioning (a cardboard container that folds over on the top – the kind you might see in a trendy restaurant) or a typical Chinese takeout container, that still would not have been plastic-free. Better, yes, but most cardboard takeout boxes and paper coffee cups have a thin layer of plastic inside to help prevent leaks. Thus I have largely gone without some of my favorite foods (Chinese, Indian, Thai, and Nepalese) since the start of quarantine.
What’s the least-bad option?
Because of the packaging issue, I have largely eschewed takeout and delivery in quarantine overall, not just for Plastic-Free July. There are two exceptions that I have deemed to be “less bad” and therefore continue to purchase. One is an extra-large veggie pizza from a shop right around the corner from our house, which I get every weekend so I can come inside and easily refuel while gardening. The other is for my weekly guilty pleasure night, when I order a Chipotle burrito bowl and watch Queer Eye on Netflix.[5] (I strongly recommend watching this ridiculously wholesome and uplifting show as a regular mental health break.)
Let’s talk about Chipotle first:
- The bowl is commercially compostable, but can’t go in back yard compost. Unfortunately, after leaving my last job, I no longer have access to a commercial compost stream, so the bowl goes in the trash.
- The lid is aluminum, but shouldn’t go in single-stream recycling (at least not in Allegheny County). Chances are it will not get sorted out of the stream properly and will instead wind up in a landfill. I put all of my aluminum lids and scrap in a box that periodically goes to the local recycling facility near my house.[6]
- They insist on including a plastic fork, sometimes two, for a single entree being delivered to a house, which undoubtedly already has silverware. No matter how hard I have tried, there is no way to tell Chipotle either on the app or by calling the store that I don’t want a plastic fork in my bag. I’ve been justifying that inclusion by saving them up until winter when I will put them in my next batch of care packages for homeless people.[7]
- And finally, if I get chips and queso, which I usually do, the queso comes in a plastic container.
So because of the plastic issue, I am foregoing Chipotle for July and sticking to pizza only for takeout. The pizza fortunately does not come with the plastic brace to keep the lid off the cheese, and the box itself is cardboard, so I can use it either as kindling or as a weed barrier in my garden.[8]
Of course, one pizza a week doesn’t cover all of my food needs, so that means I’m spending a lot more time in the kitchen. There will be more on that ongoing misadventure next week.
Month to Date
In closing, I’m happy to say that I’ve been doing pretty well so far on the challenge. My Plastic Pile of Shame only has things I used up in July, and nothing that I’ve purchased: an empty quinoa bag, an empty packaging bag (from something I ordered online in June), and an empty plastic tray (from a bag of Milanos I discovered in the cupboard this week)!
~
Are you playing along at home? I’d love to hear what you’re doing to reduce your plastic intake.
Thanks for reading!
[1] https://radicalmoderate.online/medieval-gatorade-a-plastic-free-july-recap/
[2] https://radicalmoderate.online/zero-waste-lent-week-3-serviceware/
[3] https://inhabitat.com/boston-just-officially-banned-single-use-plastic-bags/
[4] https://www.theregreview.org/2020/05/11/morath-match-between-covid-19-plastic-bags/
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queer_Eye_(2018_TV_series)
[6] https://michaelbrothershauling.com/Scrap-Metal-Recycling
[7] https://radicalmoderate.online/care-packages-for-homeless-people/
[8] https://radicalmoderate.online/eco-friendly-weed-barrier/
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