UNWRAPPING PLASTIC

Understanding disposables in hospitality

Supported by Sustainable Restaurant Association

What’s inside

Terminology 3 Introduction 5 Phasing out disposables 6 this Products & Materials Coffee cups & lids 8 Bottles 10 Straws 10 guide Takeaway packaging 12 Cutlery & chopsticks 14 Cling film 15

Self audit 16 Questions for your contractor 17

2 Unwrapping Plastic

Aerobic Digestion: The oxygen- rich process that drives the degradation of compostable materials.

Anaerobic Digestion: The process in which microorganisms rapidly break down biodegradable material such as food waste in the absence of oxygen, in order to produce methane and agricultural fertiliser.

Biodegradable: Materials capable of breaking down safely and relatively quickly by bacteria or other organisms into raw materials, disappearing into the environment. Nearly everything will biodegrade if given enough time, but it is important to consider the rate at which it will break down, and whether the 8 product will pollute the ecosystem. Oil-based plastics 10 for example will degrade over thousands of years and 10 leave chemical pollutants behind. 12 Bioplastics: Umbrella term for plastics derived 14 from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable 15 fats and oils, corn starch, or microbiota. Not all bioplastics are biodegradable, nor biodegrade more 16 readily than crude oil derived plastics. PLA is one of 17 many types of bioplastic.

Compostable: Materials capable of degrading into a nutrient-rich under specific conditions. Compostable materials should be certified (EU 13432). These materials are often only suitable for commercial composting, not home composting.

Degradable: Materials capable of breaking down through chemical or biological processes.

Downcycling: The process of waste where the resulting product is of lower quality and functionality than the original material. Often this is due the accumulation of impurities, which may exclude the recycled material from high-quality applications e.g. RPET. a-d

3 Sustainable Restaurant Association e-z EfW or WtE: Energy-from-waste or Waste- to-energy. The process of generating electricity and/or heat directly through the combustion of waste. Increasingly seen as an alternative to landfill, although it is not a “clean” solution.

Home compostable: Capable of fully degrading in a ‘traditional’ compost heap, as opposed to a commercial compost facility.

PET: Polyethylene terephthalate. Crude oil derived plastic commonly used to make drinks bottles and food containers.

PLA: Polylactic acid. Plastic-like material derived from plant starch such as corn or sugarcane that has similar characteristics to PET. PLA is one of many materials that falls under the umbrella term ‘bioplastic’.

Recyclable: Able to be reprocessed into another product.

Recycled: Made from 1% - 100% converted waste material.

RPET: Recycled polyethylene terephthalate. Plastic derived from recycled PET plastic. RPET is lower quality than virgin PET and packaging will often contain a blend of PET and RPET.

Upcycling: The process of transforming by- products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials of better quality or for better environmental value.

4 Unwrapping Plastic

The Plastic plays a crucial role in the day to day operation of most food service businesses. Right now the sector is facing an unprecedented level of awareness and pressure over its environmental impact. Call it the Attenborough effect, or just a long time coming, but the tide is turning and the public is demanding change when it comes to single- plastic use plastic.

Tackling plastic use in your business can be a confusing and frustrating task. With so many types of plastic to cope with, problem and an ever increasing number of confusing ‘environmentally friendly’ alternatives coming to market, knowing how and where to start, and what answers are the best answers, is easier said than done.

Let’s be clear, plastic can be essential. It has saved lives in hospitals and enabled much of the technology we use in daily life. Within restaurants it has played a valuable role in improving food safety and reducing waste. We are not setting out to vilify all plastic. Instead this resource is built to help you navigate the journey to becoming plastic responsible. We want to support the food industry to make good decisions - not knee-jerk reactions - by asking the right questions, gaining reliable knowledge and using tools to help take action.

There are two huge issues at the root of our single use plastic problem: plastics that can’t be recycled, and plastics that could be but aren’t currently. This opens the door to the bigger issue in all - what is happening to our waste? Making a responsible decision requires an understanding of the full lifecycle of any material, and the gritty reality of what is actually happening. An optimistic view of what could happen will not suffice.

Most importantly, don’t forget the : reduce, , recycle. When considering any switch, begin by assessing whether or not the item is truly necessary. Could it be removed? Or if not removed entirely, could you reduce the volume? What about switching to a reusable option - how would that impact your operations?

This resource is meant to be a simple guide to asking the right questions, getting good information and ultimately making choices that are good for both your business and for the planet. It includes a glossary of terms to make sense of all of the confusing vocabulary; a behaviour matrix to help you put one foot in front of the other; a set of questions to ask your waste contractor to understand exactly where your waste is going, and a digital tool for auditing your packaging use.

And finally, the bulk of the resource is a simple guide to understanding your options when it comes to six of the core offenders: straws, bottles, coffee cups, takeaway packaging, cutlery and cling film.

Alongside this toolkit, you will also find adigital presentation on the Food Made Good community which will help you contextualise the issue and think more broadly about your decision-making framework.

5 Sustainable Restaurant Association A step-by-step guide to phasing out disposables STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4

COFFEE CUPS

DRINK BOTTLES Audit your Ask your Identify Send your business to suppliers for where you waste understand packaging can remove contractor your current specifications non-essential your collated practices by to understand plastic. Set packaging STRAWS asking: exactly what reduction spreadsheet What is being you are targets to understand used? Where? receiving and and devise what materials At what how much. operational they are able volume? By Collate this changes.​ and unable to whom? information in process.​ the Self-Audit spreadsheet TAKEAWAY (page 14).​

OTHERS

6 Unwrapping Plastic

STEP 5 STEP 6 STEP 7 STEP 8 If coffee cups are Provide each team Add a levy for Contact a coffee member with cups or offer recycled, clearly cup recycling communicate to a reusable cup. a discount to company to customers how and Introduce branded incentivise show demand where they recycle. reusables for customers to bring in your area. Clearly label customers. a reusable cup. recycling bins.

Provide each Offer tap Explore installing If you must have team member water to a water filtration bottles, explore with a reusable customers first. system. glass or recycled bottle and access plastic​. to refill

Keep in Review which Train staff to give Switch to mind, some drinks, if any, out straws only straws. customers may really need straws when necessary.​ need a straw with a ‘flex’, so we advise having some in stock.

Switch to wooden Ask customers Ensure all Introduce or recyclable if they need packaging is reusable cutlery​. cutlery. widely recyclable containers such at home or as tiffin tins. on-site.

Train staff on what can be recycled, Order in bulk to Use refillable Ensure supplier where and why/ reduce packaging condiment bottles packaging is to use workplace waste where for customers returned and resources, such as cling film and blue possible​. eating in. recycled. roll, efficiently or how to use alternatives (e.g. reusable storage containers). 7 Sustainable Restaurant Association

Material Card Plastic liner PLA Liner (bioplastic)

What is it Plastic derived Renewable organic matter such Paper made of? from crude oil as corn starch or vegetable fat.

If clean, Coffee cup dry mixed bins, dry mixed Food waste Which bin? recycling. recycling in (commercial composting only) If unclean, some areas. general waste.

The reality Mainly landfill or WtE (but Separated and sent to of where it recycling rates are increasing). landfill or WtE ends up

It’s highly unlikely that Coffee Cups Coffee customers will have access to a commercial composting bin, Things to Installing a cup-only bin for the and bioplastics contaminate consider public to use. traditional recycling streams, therefore the only real option is general waste.

8 Unwrapping Plastic

Foamed polystyrene Material Card Plastic liner PLA Liner (bioplastic) (expanded)

What is it Plastic derived Renewable organic matter such Plastic derived from Paper made of? from crude oil as corn starch or vegetable fat. crude oil

If clean, Coffee cup dry mixed bins, dry mixed Food waste Which bin? recycling. General waste recycling in (commercial composting only) If unclean, some areas. general waste.

The reality FOAMED vs. UNFOAMED Mainly landfill or WtE (but Separated and sent to of where it Landfill or WtE POLYSTYRENE recycling rates are increasing). landfill or WtE ends up In the UK, ‘polystyrene’ is used to describe both foamed and unfoamed polystyrene. We most It’s highly unlikely that commonly use it as a shorthand customers will have access to when talking about the foamed or a commercial composting bin, expanded variety (used to package Things to Installing a cup-only bin for the Economically unviable to and bioplastics contaminate sensitive foods or fragile objects). consider public to use. recycle. Avoid at all costs. traditional recycling streams, However, the recycling industry therefore the only real option is officially recognises ‘polystyrene’ general waste. as the unfoamed material used to make disposable cutlery and lids and identifies it with recycling number ‘6’ and the letters ‘PS’. Coffee Cup Cup Coffee Lids Unfoamed Material Polystyrene (not CPLA (heat resistant PLA) expanded) What is it Plastic derived Renewable organic matter, such as corn starch or made of? from crude oil vegetable fat

Dry mixed Which bin? Food waste (commercial composting only) recycling Likely separated The reality out of recycling, of where it Separated and sent to landfill or WtE check with waste ends up contractor.

Composters are currently unable to distinguish PET and PLA and so most PLA is removed from the food waste and sent to landfill or WtE plants. PLAs do not Non-expanded degrade under anaerobic conditions, meaning that Things to polystyrene is they cannot be sent to Anaerobic Digestion. Look for consider recyclable. certifications: EU 13432 (EU standard, best globally) or ASTM D6400 (US standard, less stringent). Initial life-cycle analysis suggests a carbon footprint 80% lower than similar PET products.

9 Sustainable Restaurant Association

Material PET RPET Aluminium Plastic What is it derived Virgin or recycled Recycled PET plastic made of? from aluminium crude oil

Which bin? Dry mixed recycling

The reality Bottles of where it Widely recycled ends up

RPET can vary in recycled Widely recycled. PET can be content. High recycled content Recycling aluminium easily and RPET can be lower in quality Things to requires 5% of the cheaply or include discolouration. A consider energy required to recycled lower content RPET is still manufacture virgin into RPET. better than virgin PET, and it aluminum. can be further recycled. Straws Material PET RPET PLA

Plastic Plastic What is it derived derived from Renewable organic matter such as corn starch or made of? from 1%-100% vegetable fat. crude oil recycled PET General waste unless commercial composting is Which bin? Dry mixed recycling available for food waste. Can be recycled, but mostly The reality ends up as general waste, of where it Landfill or WtE litter or in the worst case, in ends up our oceans.

Composters are currently unable to distinguish PET and PLA, so most PLA is removed from If using plastic straws, food waste and sent to landfill or Waste-to- consider messaging to energy (WtE) plants. PLA does not degrade Things to consumers regarding under anaerobic conditions, meaning that it consider recycling as PET can be cannot be sent to anaerobic digestion. Look for easily and cheaply recycled certification: EU 13431 (EU standard is the best into RPET. globally) or ASTM D6400 (US standard, less stringent.

10 Unwrapping Plastic

Carton (Tetra Pak) Glass PLA

Layers of cardboard, Sand or Renewable organic matter such as corn aluminium and plastic recycled glass starch or vegetable fat

Depends on waste Glass, dry contractor. May need mixed General waste specialist recycling. recycling 92% of UK local authorities offer tetra pak collection, but most consumers will either Widely Separated and sent to landfill or WtE confuse with general dry recycled mixed recycling or throw in general waste. Composters are currently unable to distinguish PET and PLA, so most PLA is removed from food waste and sent to Whilst the cartons may be If possible, it’s landfill or WtE plants. PLA does not degrade recyclable, Tetra Pak cannot best to have a under anaerobic conditions, meaning that it be made with recycled separate glass cannot be sent to anaerobic digestion. Look material. collection. for certification: EU 13431 (EU standard is the best globally) or ASTM D6400 (US standard, less stringent).

Paper

Trees and grasses

PET General waste PET made in the UK has a con- siderably lower carbon footprint than cheap, imported PET made Landfill or WtE elsewhere in the world. Ask your suppliers about the provenance of their packaging materials.

Always look for FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) certification. Used straws will be too contaminated to be Bottle lids recycled. Lids could be made from different types of plastic The benefit of a paper straw is that if it (HDPE) or metal. Recycle Now ends up as litter it will biodegrade. advises to put the lid back on the bottle when recycling.

11 Sustainable Restaurant Association

Material Lined Card PET RPET

What is it Plastic derived from 1% - 100% Paper and plastic made of? crude oil recycled PET

Which bin? Dry mixed recycling or general waste (if heavily contaminated)

If contaminated, this The reality If rinsed this will be recycled. If heavily will be separated and of where it contaminated with food, packaging will be sent to landfill or ends up separated and sent to landfill or WtE. incineration.

Some recycling PET can be recycled facilities cannot into RPET if not separate the plastic heavily contaminated Include messaging to Things to lining, meaning that with food. Include encourage customers consider even if clean it will be messaging to to rinse and recycle. sent to landfill encourage customers or WtE. to rinse and recycle. Takeaway packaging Takeaway

12 Unwrapping Plastic

Expanded Material Lined Card PET RPET Bioplastic liner Bagasse NatureFlex Polystyrene

Renewable organic matter What is it Plastic derived from 1% - 100% Plastic derived Derived from renewable Paper and plastic such as corn starch or Sugar cane made of? crude oil recycled PET from crude oil wood pulp vegetable fat

Check with your waste Dry mixed Food waste contractor. Food waste, Food waste (commercial Which bin? Dry mixed recycling or general waste (if heavily contaminated) recycling / (commercial anaerobic digestion, composting only) General Waste composting only) commercial composting and home composting.

If contaminated, this The reality If rinsed this will be recycled. If heavily Indistinguishable from will be separated and Separated and sent Separated and sent to of where it contaminated with food, packaging will be PET. Separated and sent to Landfill or WtE sent to landfill or to landfill or WtE landfill or WtE ends up separated and sent to landfill or WtE. landfill or WtE. incineration.

Composters are currently unable to distinguish PET Some recycling PET can be recycled and PLA, so most PLA is facilities cannot into RPET if not removed from food waste NatureFlex™ films Bagasse is difficult separate the plastic heavily contaminated Include messaging to and sent to landfill or are fully certified to Things to to distinguish lining, meaning that with food. Include encourage customers Waste-to-energy (WtE) the American (ASTM consider from expanded even if clean it will be messaging to to rinse and recycle. plants. PLA does not Economically D6400) and European polystyrene, which sent to landfill encourage customers degrade under anaerobic impossible to (EN13432) norms for means that bagasse or WtE. to rinse and recycle. conditions, meaning recycle. Avoid 100% compostable is often removed that they cannot be sent at all costs. packaging. Proven to from food waste and to anaerobic digestion. be suitable for home sent to landfill or Look for certification: EU composting, they are WtE. 13431 (EU standard is the also marine degradable. best globally) or ASTM D6400 (US standard, less stringent.

13 Sustainable Restaurant Association

Polystyrene (not Material Wood expanded)

What is it Plastic derived from Often beech made of? crude oil

Food waste (commercial Which bin? Dry mixed recycling composting only)

Most composting The reality Likely separated out of facilities will accept of where it recycling, check with wooden cutlery as long ends up waste contractor. as it is untreated.

May be sprayed with a Non-expanded Things to resin which will reduce polystyrene is Cutlery & Cutlery Chopsticks consider degradability. Look for recyclable. FSC certification.

14 Unwrapping Plastic

Bamboo PLA

Mostly produced in Renewable organic matter such as China corn starch or vegetable fat

Food waste (commercial composting General waste only) Most composting facilities will accept Separated and sent to landfill or wooden cutlery as long WtE as it is untreated. Composters are currently unable to distinguish PET and PLA, so most PLA is removed from food Bamboo is incredibly waste and sent to landfill or WtE fast growing. May be plants. PLA does not degrade under sprayed with a resin anaerobic conditions, meaning which will reduce that it cannot be sent to anaerobic degradability. Look for digestion. Look for certification: FSC certification. EU 13431 (EU standard is the best globally) or ASTM D6400 (US standard, less stringent). Cling film

Material PPVC / PVDC (regular cling film) Beeswax wrap

Derived from crude oil. Regular cling Made from and beeswax, film allows permeability they are a reusable, washable, What is it to water vapour and oxygen, scrunchable beeswax wrap that made of? extending the duration of seals around food with a quick peak freshness. hand-hug.

Food waste, or cotton recycling if Which bin? General waste washed before being discarded.

The reality If the wax is washed off, the of where it Landfill or WtE cotton can be sent for textile ends up recycling.

Things to Will almost always be sent to landfill Ask your linen supplier if they consider or for incineration. can recycle the cotton.

15 Sustainable Restaurant Association Self-audit The packaging self-audit tool has been designed to help you visualise the flow of pack- aging and catering disposables through your business. By knowing exactly what mate- rials are coming in and what you are throwing out, your waste contractor can help you understand where materials are not being recycled and where changes need to be made.

Used alongside the material factsheets and the questions to ask your waste contractor, you have all the tools to identify which disposables and packaging to remove, and the best materials to switch to.

Click here to download the packaging self audit document, or visit www.foodmadegood.org/ packaging

16 Unwrapping Plastic Questions for your waste contractor 1. Do you have a guide or list of the materials that can go into each bin that you collect?

2. (If collected separately) Does our food waste go to anaerobic digestion or commercial composting?

3. (If food waste is sent for anaerobic digestion) Is the anaerobic digestion facility happy to take plant-based films such as NatureFlex?

4. (If food waste is sent for composting) Is the composting facility happy to take plant-based packaging such as PLA, bagasse and NatureFlex?

5. (If composter accepts compostable packaging) Do you accept compostable packaging with food waste, or in a separate bin?

6. We have the following bins:

Do you collect any additional waste streams that would improve the real recycling rate of my business?

7. What should my team do if they’re not sure about the recyclability of a material?

17 Supported by

JUNE 2018