Derriford food and drinks vendors shift offering alternatives to single use plastic items
With the Trust leading the way towards its aim of being carbon neutral by 2030 and choosing to embed more sustainable practises, we’re also encouraging onsite 3rd party vendors to choose and offer sustainable alternatives, where possible.
We’ve been working with Warrens for many years now to reduce single use plastic items. Warrens now offer wooden/bamboo cutlery, cardboard or other plant based takeaway packaging. They are also now using paper straws as well as selling re-useable cups, that if used, will allow you to bag double loyalty points!
Sourcing ingredients locally is an excellent way to reduce your carbon footprint and with 80-90% of their suppliers being based within Devon and Cornwall, along with pushing them to reduce the amount of plastic packaging, Warrens really are determined to make a difference. Fighting food waste is another hurdle being tackled by selling short shelf-life items at a discount and using the ‘TooGoodToGo’ app which connects customers to restaurants/stores that have unsold food to be bought at a heavily reduced cost. This has helped save 29 million meals from going to waste in its first 3.5 years!
M&S have also been busy eliminating single use plastic cutlery helping them to achieve their aims to reduce plastic packaging volume by 30% by 2027. Plus, they have another goal to make all packaging 100% recyclable by 2025, helping us make a more sustainable choice when looking at lunch or a snack.
Our Level 7 restaurant hasn’t shied away from the sustainable switches either with them removing the majority of oil derived plastic takeaway containers and replaced these with paper/card containers. Takeaway cups offered are also now manufactured by VegWare, which is made up from a vegetable based, renewably sourced, biodegradable, recyclable and commercially compostable bio-plastic called PLA. There is always the option to also have a sit down meal or drink with plates and mugs, which are washed to be used again, removing the need for single use items.
So great efforts to help us be more sustainable when choosing to consume food and drink on the go with the alternatives to single use plastic. If you’re looking to further reduce your carbon footprint, consider a re-useable takeaway mug and bringing in your own cutlery that can be used over and over again. Better yet take some time for yourself, slow down a little and sit down for a meal on a ‘proper’ plate with ‘proper’ cutlery and a glass or mug, as these can be used hundreds of times in their life leading to a much smaller environmental impact. Perhaps the key to less waste is less haste.
