Just Eat and ClubZerø team up for returnable food packaging scheme in London

21 Nov 2022 --- Just Eat for Business is expanding its partnership with ClubZerø by implementing a returnable packaging system across London, UK, to tackle single-use waste originating from the foodservice packaging industry. 

ClubZerø’s offering is designed to replace single-use packaging through a convenient returnable packaging scheme in London-wide corporate offices. 

The system will provide a zero-waste experience through a convenient packaging return scheme. The expansion will see over 15 restaurants and cafes in London and surrounding areas provide reusable takeaway cups and containers to London businesses. 

“Even though packaging is an indirect part of Just Eat Takeaway’s supply chain and often out of our control, it is our aim to reduce the use of plastic packaging in the food delivery sector and the use of all types of packaging overall. We work with sustainable packaging innovators on solutions that could be commercially viable and scalable,” a representative from ClubZerø tells PackagingInsights. 

“Our vision is to see reuse adopted as the new norm across F&B delivery and takeaway. Today we have achieved a milestone in making this a reality for hundreds of businesses and consumers London-wide,” adds Safia Qureshi, founder and CEO of ClubZerø. 

Environmental motivation
Customers will have a choice to opt-in for the reusable packaging when placing an order from a range of participating restaurants through the Just Eat for Business platform. The fully recyclable packaging will be collected by ClubZerø bikes for centralized washing and retribution.

ClubZerø is aiding Just Eat for Business in offering customers reusable takeaway options to reduce single-use products. “Minimizing our environmental impact has always been at the heart of our business. However, we knew that in order to achieve minimal waste, we needed to provide a sustainable service that would stick and be easily implemented into our vendors’ delivery models,” says Matt Ephgrave, managing director at Just Eat for Business. 

“Our partnership with ClubZerø offers a convenient service and an effective way to reduce packaging waste. We are looking forward to seeing more and more businesses adopt the same approach.”

To keep up with demand, Just East will be onboarding more of its vendors onto the scheme. The expansion follows ClubZerø’s pilot with Just Eat takeaway in 2021.

Reusable revolution controversy
Innova Market Insights pegged “Reusable Revolution” as a top trend for 2021, noting the shift from single-use consumption to reuse as a critical strategy for material savings. 

However, some industry players are not convinced that reusable options are the way to reduce waste. Some claim tupperware-like packaging uses more greenhouse emissions than superior alternatives such as fiber-based packages. 

Risto Auero, sales director for foodservice board at Metsä Board, told PackagingInsights that reusable models for quick service restaurants (QSR) are not necessarily the answer, arguing that, “single-use fiber-based packaging used in QSR for in-store use results in very significant environmental benefits over its life cycle – from climate change to freshwater consumption.”

Meanwhile, an independent life cycle assessment conducted by Huhtamaki revealed that transitioning QSR dining to reusable tableware would be equivalent to adding one million petrol cars to Europe’s roads. The reusable system was found to generate almost three times more CO2-equivalent emissions and consume about three and a half times more freshwater than the paper-based single-use system.

By Sabine Waldeck 

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