The fast-food industry in Australia is worth over $20 billion. Despite the fact that any business heave suffered during the global pandemic, it is likely that the majority of these businesses will bounce back as demand ad normality returns.
But, as many people have said, the pandemic appears to be a good opportunity to hit reset and evaluate better ways of doing things, improving quality of life, and helping to save the planet. One area that appears to instantly draw criticism is the throwaway food containers. After all, isn’t having throwaway food containers catering toward the throwaway society that is causing so many of the environmental issues?
The short answer is actually no.
The Truth About Disposable Plates And Cutlery
If you take a look at the disposable plates and cutlery supplied by reputable firms specializing in hospitality supplies, you will quickly realize they are environmentally friendly. Disposable plates and cutlery are generally made from wood, cardboard, or paper. That means that once they have been used they can be recycled.
In many cases, they will be remade into more plates and cutlery!
The environmental impact of this is negligible.
In fact, they can be argued to be better for the environment than traditional plates and cutlery. When you use china plates and cutlery they need to be washed afterward, this can be done in a dishwasher or by hand. In both cases, water is used which needs to be heated. In addition, chemical detergents are used to ensure the plates and cutlery are clean.
That means chemicals going into the water cycle which need to be removed and more water being used than needs to be. This water also needs to be heated which takes electricity or gas, these can both be said to cause harm to the environment although the level of harm from electricity will depend on how it is generated.
Alongside the environmental impact of washing china plates and metal cutlery, you need to consider the cost factor. Paper plates are surprisingly cheap, you can buy many of them for the cost of one chine plate. When you factor in the cost of washing the china plate you will find that the cost of one china plate is comparable to at least 100 paper plates. In other words, there is little difference in the cost of disposable plates versus chine ones.
Convenience
We live in a throwaway society but there are few other options when offering food to takeaway. This is something that has helped businesses to survive through the pandemic. The practicalities of offering China plates and people returning them are ridiculous and are likely to cost businesses money as people don’t return the plates. It s simply more convenient to use disposable products, especially when they can be recycled without harming the environment.
While disposable plates and cutlery may seem like a bad idea, t remains cost-effective environmentally friendly and necessary. The trick is to ensure you use products that are 100% recyclable.