Also included is an electric grill: Crazy takeout packaging with 5 boxes of reduced plastic per set meal | Consumer | Electric grill

The latest data shows that the number of takeout users in China has increased to 520 million. With the increasing number of takeout users and orders, the plastic waste generated by takeout has been increasing day by day.

At the same time, businesses are opening up their takeaway packaging, tableware, and other aspects to attract customer attention and promote their own brands. In fact, takeout packaging has already become a main battlefield for catering businesses to showcase their talents, so a problem naturally arises - excessive packaging.

Excessive food delivery packaging is not only a waste of resources, but also causes environmental pollution. On July 13th, the China Packaging Federation and Ele.me jointly released the "General Requirements for Takeout Food Packaging", which is the first industry standard for takeout food packaging, encouraging takeout food packaging to reduce quantity while ensuring performance requirements.

The public's vision is once again focused on excessive food delivery packaging, so what is the current situation of plastic pollution in the food delivery industry? What burden does the increasingly rolled takeout packaging bring? How to further promote the resolution of the problem of excessive packaging in takeout? Recently, journalists from Chao News conducted multiple interviews.

Current situation:

The excessive packaging of takeout is dominating the market

A versatile packaging box that becomes a burden after meals

"Soup base, ingredients, main food, dipping, fruit... A Spicy Hot Pot Chinese food take away, there were six or seven plastic lunch boxes, which were sorted and labeled, and attached with a plastic mat with cartoons showing how to eat." The little octopus from Xiamen shared on the social platform. Although the lunch in the office was full of ritual, these lunch boxes were finally thrown into the garbage can.

The takeout rolls have been on the packaging for a long time, and there seems to be a sign of dominance. In addition to the large number of food boxes, there are also various options: sometimes, a takeout is like a blind box, and after opening the eye-catching takeout bag, you will constantly reap surprises.

I'll give you an electric grill, accompanied by a small plastic box with five meat and five vegetables, and a barbecue gift package: disposable bowls and chopsticks, disposable tablecloths, bibs... In order to capture the young consumer market, many restaurants have launched "exquisite takeout" services, which can provide a full restaurant atmosphere even at home. However, the plastic waste of all sizes after meals has become a burden for many consumers.

"When ordering takeout, I was really attracted by the electric grill, which was also very convenient. Recently, due to the hot weather, Hangzhou resident Qi Meng and his friends spent over a hundred yuan ordering barbecue takeout. After finishing the meal, he realized that he had left behind two large bags of plastic garbage after finishing. In addition, the electric grill was difficult to clean, and he didn't know if there would be any safety hazards in the next use." We struggled for a long time between throwing it away and not throwing it away, but in the end, we decided to throw it away. "

BBQ takeout provided by respondents

Sending tablecloths, pots and pans, soup and powder packaging, and zippered insulation bags have gradually become a common feeling among young people. Many netizens have also expressed, "I have two takeout meals a day, and many takeout products have problems with excessive packaging, creating too much garbage." "Every time I order takeout, the biggest headache is taking out the garbage." "I dare not eat takeout now, and every time I eat it, I have an extra pile of food boxes at home. It's a pity to lose them, so it's useless to keep them."

On March 28th, the China Consumers Association released a report on research on excessive packaging of goods and consumer perception survey. The report shows that 80.7% of consumers oppose excessive packaging; 51.4% of consumers perceive that there are more issues with excessive packaging of products, and 34.3% of consumers believe that they have purchased products suspected of excessive packaging.

Challenge:

Delivery orders have significantly increased

Difficulty in recycling plastic waste, causing environmental pollution

A research report shows that in the five years from 2015 to 2020, the number of orders of China's mainstream Internet delivery platforms has increased from 1.7 billion to 17.12 billion, and the plastic consumption has increased from 57000 tons to 574000 tons, a nearly tenfold increase in five years. With the increasing number of takeout users and orders, the amount of plastic waste generated from takeout may reach nearly one million tons by 2023.

"Since 2016, the problem of plastic pollution in the food delivery industry has been particularly prominent. In recent years, excessive packaging of food delivery has exacerbated plastic pollution in order to promote advertising and attract customers. Ma Yong, Deputy Secretary General of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, told Xinhua News that about 70% to 80% of food delivery packaging contains non degradable plastic components, and a portion is processed through landfill and incineration. The proportion of recycling is not very high.".

According to data released by the food delivery platform, as of the end of 2022, Meituan has collected over 6400 tons of plastic lunch boxes in over 1500 communities and units in 7 provinces. It can be seen that compared to the hundreds or even millions of tons of plastic waste generated each year, the amount of plastic recycled by food delivery platforms is far from the same.

The reporter learned during the interview that plastic food boxes and waste recycling station staff never recycle after takeout meals. Uncle Mao, a staff member at a recycling station in Dongxin Street, Gongshu District, Hangzhou, told reporters that white transparent polypropylene lunch boxes with PP logos can be recycled. "However, we do not recycle the garbage lunch boxes after meals, as they are too dirty and difficult to clean." Therefore, a large amount of plastic takeout waste is mixed into household waste treatment.

Nowadays, the commonly used non-woven takeout packaging bags may seem environmentally friendly and reusable, but in fact, they are mostly discarded as garbage bags after a meal. A study released by the UK Environment Agency in 2011 showed that non-woven bags need to be reused at least 11 times to compensate for the pollution they cause. Nowadays, this is undoubtedly counterproductive and exacerbates environmental pollution.

A technician from Zhejiang Jintian Polymer Research Institute Co., Ltd. analyzed to reporters that there are various types of takeaway packaging, including plastic materials such as boxed and bagged, which have a long degradation cycle problem. "The cost of degradation is higher for takeaway bags with insulation effects on the market."

"A large amount of plastic waste is difficult to effectively recycle and reuse, or continues to pollute the soil and water environment, increase greenhouse gas emissions during the incineration and landfill process, or is scattered in the environment and ingested by wild animals, leading to their death, or eventually transformed into microplastics and entered living organisms, including human food, and ultimately collected in the ocean, which is also a significant amount," said Ma Yong.

Respondents provide packaging fees in consumer orders

Cracking:

How to deal with excessive packaging in takeout?

Experts advocate for "minimalist packaging"

Regarding the current situation of excessive packaging, Wang Chao, the owner of a sauce braised takeout restaurant in Hangzhou, told reporters that the quality of takeout should not be reflected in increasingly rolled packaging, but should focus on food safety and taste. "Most food delivery merchants, due to the platform's commission of 20% per order, try to recover some losses by raising prices and packaging fees, which goes against the essence of benefiting the people."

In fact, packaging the goods purchased by consumers is the most basic obligation of businesses. Nowadays, excessive packaging has become one of the tools for some businesses to make profits, and behind it is the environmental pollution it brings.

"The most crucial step in reducing plastic pollution is to regulate and reduce at the source, otherwise it will be very passive in intermediate control and end treatment." Ma Yong said, to fundamentally eliminate excessive packaging, we advocate using minimalist packaging for plastic reduction, or using biodegradable materials such as corn starch meal boxes and paper meal boxes.

In 2020, Mr. Yu from Deqing Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. saw the trend of nationwide plastic prohibition. After the implementation of the plastic ban in Hainan, we were unable to send plastic express delivery to Hainan. With this experience, Boss Yu decided to transform from the plastic industry to paper lunch boxes. He believes that the nationwide ban on plastic production is only a matter of time.

Nowadays, China's "plastic restriction order" is gradually upgrading, and Shanghai, Hainan and other places have fully implemented the "plastic ban". Regulatory supervision is working together to provide reference experience for other cities. On June 20th of this year, the Management Measures for the Use and Reporting of Disposable Plastic Products by Business Operators were officially implemented, encouraging catering operators to guide consumers to use alternative products through incentive measures and reduce the use of disposable plastic products.

The reporter noticed that market supervision departments in various regions of Zhejiang Province have carried out excessive packaging supervision. In the view of relevant law enforcement personnel from the Wenzhou Market Supervision Bureau, the governance of excessive environmental pollution caused by packaging requires the joint efforts of government departments, businesses, and consumers. While strengthening supervision by government departments, it is also necessary to promote and educate enterprises on environmental protection and plastic reduction awareness. It is recommended that businesses replace plastic products with environmentally friendly products that degrade quickly and are pollution-free without affecting normal packaging.

"At present, enterprises in the industry of Longgang City, Wenzhou tend to take orders to manufacture paper bags, degradable fiberglass bags, non-woven bags, and burlap bags, and produce them in accordance with environmental requirements." Liang Xiaoke, Executive Secretary General of the Longgang Printing and Packaging Industry Association, mentioned that currently, food delivery enterprises in the market need functional food delivery bags. Although such products are difficult to degrade, there is a large demand in the market. The market should define relevant standards and develop and promote alternative packaging.

At the same time, it is crucial for consumers to have environmental awareness and choose to reduce the use of excessive packaging independently. A staff member of the Consumer Rights Protection Committee told reporters that the current pricing rules and standards for takeaway packaging are not clear. The provision of packaging boxes by merchants is an additional obligation for them to provide takeout goods, and therefore the packaging fees incurred should be borne by consumers, but should be limited to the cost of packaging boxes. Consumers should have the right to know and choose food delivery packaging, and it is advocated that food delivery platforms provide packaging boxes with different standards, allowing consumers to choose packaging forms according to their needs.

Overpackaging of food delivery is actually putting the cart before the horse. Multiple measures should be taken together, and all parties should work together to bring food delivery back to its affordable nature from the source.

Did you receive the takeout that was over packaged? How ruthless is the excessive packaging by food delivery merchants? Welcome everyone to share your crazy takeout packaging in the comments section.