What a mess: Lunch on-the-go is bombarding UK streets with 10.7bn discarded packs annually

15 May 2019 --- The lunch habits of British workers is generating 10.7 billion items of packaging waste every year– the equivalent of 276 items per person. This is according to a study by UK environmental sustainability charity Hubbub, who is urging consumers and restaurants to reconsider the daily lunch routine and establish reusable packaging schemes in the mold of the reusable coffee cup model. Hubbub also challenges UK foodservice to opt for more easily-recyclable packaging which is clearly labeled, and for the government to facilitate more recycling bins.

The research of over 1,200 UK full and part-time workers revealed they use an average of four packaging items for each lunch purchase, with 76 percent picking up a main item such as a sandwich container, 70 percent a packet of snacks and 65 percent a napkin. 64 percent said they buy lunch on-the-go more now than they did five years ago – spending £13.6 billion (US$17.47 billion) annually – which is naturally leading to an increase in packaging waste, much of which isn’t recycled or recyclable.

The rise in grabbing lunch on-the-go is partly down to the fact life has got busier, according to 26 percent of participants. The UK’s evolving food culture also plays a part, with 20 percent of workers saying there are now more places to eat out and 19 percent saying eating out has become more tempting.

“Packaging is often made of a number of materials and not all of the components may be recyclable,” Tessa Tricks, Creative Partner at Hubbub, tells PackagingInsights. “When you consider how busy lunch goers are, they rarely separate the packaging themselves and are often confused about what to do with it.”

Lunch packing often has remnants of lunch and the quick rinse required prior to recycling adds an extra barrier for those eating and recycling on-the-go. “What’s more, the mixed packaging associated with lunch requires a number of waste streams which often are not available in the café, on the street or back at the office,” she explains.

Tricks advises restaurants and cafés to up their sustainability credentials by reassessing the materials used in their packaging and opting for those which are recycled more easily. She also recommends that restaurants and cafés to add clear recycling information on their packaging, as well as provide clearly labelled points of recycling on their premises.

Trialing packaging-free lunches
To help create a new culture of meal planning and reusable lunch packaging that reduces food and plastic waste, Hubbub, in collaboration with Norfolk and Suffolk Councils, have launched a new campaign, #FoodSavvy Lunch Club. It is encouraging people across the UK to get involved and rethink their own lunch habits by visiting www.foodsavvy.org.uk to take a quiz and find tips on how to plan their lunch meals to save time, packaging and money.Hubbub encourages reusable packaging to relieve the lunchtime litter load, citing the success of reusable coffee cup schemes as an example of what can be achieved.

The #FoodSavvy Lunch Club was trialed in March 2019 in East Anglia with businesses Aviva, AXA, Environment Agency and BT, challenging a total of 50 employees to go for a month without using single-use packaging at lunch time. Supported by Hubbub, participants were given a #FoodSavvy Savings Guide, which provided them with the golden rules for reducing packaging and food waste.

The businesses followed a three-week meal plan packed with simple, healthy, sustainable meals and were challenged to make their own meals for the trial’s final week. Results were encouraging – of the employees taking part, 83 percent said the Lunch Club helped them reduce their single use plastics, with participants on average reducing their usage by 54 percent.

Meanwhile, food waste was reduced by approximately 52 percent per participant and 67 percent said the trial had helped them to save money. Challenge participants and local eateries also took part in a pilot Bring-Your-Own Tupperware scheme, Take Away, Give Back where they received a small incentive for bringing their own packaging.

Riding the waves of reusable coffee cups
Hubbub identify La Tour Cycle Café in Ipswich as a stand-out café at the fore of creative alternatives to single-use packaging. The café not only is participating in “Take Away, Give Back,” but also only serves on-the-go coffees in ceramic mugs.

Larger chains have also made steps towards reducing their waste. For example, Starbucks has added a 5p charge on all disposable cups sold which has doubled the number of people using a reusable cup, and Pret A Manger has moved their napkins and cutlery behind the counter, reducing plastic cutlery usage by 30 percent.

“We have welcomed the era of the reusable coffee cup,” says Tricks. “We want to challenge restaurants to do the same with food packaging by encouraging their customers to bring in their own containers and pots for food.”

“Offering discounts for those who make greener choices can work well to incentivize people, while adding a charge for single-use packaging can help restaurants pay for more sustainable alternatives. By putting measures in place to reduce risk of cross contamination and to meet food hygiene law, cafés can start a reusable scheme with peace of mind,” Tricks adds.

Individuals can also reduce single-use plastics by making their own lunch at home. Hubbub has found that the average person spends almost £4.40 (US$5.65) on “lunch on-the-go,” while making a sandwich or salad at home can be a fraction of the cost and take less time than it does to walk to the café.

“By planning lunches in advance and using up items in your fridge you can massively reduce the amount of packaging you use while saving money by cutting down on food waste,” advises Trewin Restorick, CEO of Hubbub. “In the UK, we could save £58 million (US$74.5 million) a day just by making our own lunches. If you do buy lunch on-the-go, don’t be shy – take along your own container to your favorite lunch spot.”

More recycling bins, please
The very nature of “grab and go” lunches means that more often than not, meals are eaten on-the-go. However, the on-the-go recycling infrastructure in the UK has not kept up with the huge rise in food and drink now consumed, according to Tricks. In a time of reduced budgets, local authorities are struggling to cope with all of the packaging being thrown away.

“The government can support the introduction of more recycling bins, not only in cafés and restaurants themselves, but also on high streets, transport hubs and in workplaces where on-the-go lunches are often consumed,” Tricks says.

“It is important that what can and can’t be recycled is clearly and consistently labeled, and that recycling information on packaging clearly corresponds with this. Finally, the government could influence retailers and packaging manufacturers to ensure that all packaging is recyclable and is made at least partly of recycled materials,” she adds.

By Joshua Poole