Reduce Single-Use Pledge

By
NEC Staff
-

The Reduce Single Use Pledge asks restaurants to only provide single-use foodware upon customer request.

Often the default for restaurants when preparing to-go orders is to provide single-use foodware (utensils, napkins, condiment containers, bags, etc.) to customers without asking. However, the majority of to-go orders are eaten at people’s homes where they already have these items. Thus, providing single-use foodware is redundant and adds unnecessary waste to our landfills, neighborhoods, rivers, and oceans.

Why Should We Reduce Single-Use?

  • Restaurants save money 
    • Providing free single-use foodware to customers adds up financially. Slowing down this practice will help our local businesses save money. (Upstream Solutions)
  • It’s more hygienic and safer for customers
    • From production to packaging to shipping, single-use foodware passes through a countless number of hands by the time they reach a restaurant. Bottom line? The most hygienic foodware for your meals is the kind you find at home. (Oceanic Standard)
  • It’s better for the planet 
      • The most effective way to reduce waste is not creating it in the first place. Making a new product requires a lot of materials and energy – raw materials must be extracted from the earth, and the product must be fabricated then transported to wherever it will be sold. (Environmental Protection Agency)
      • Estimates indicate that around 50% of annual plastic production is destined for single use packaging and products. Plastic products are made using petroleum, which is a non-renewable resource. (National Geographic)
      • Single-use items are disposed in huge quantities every day. Disposable foodware accounted for approximately 1.1 million tons of solid waste generated in the United States in 2015. (Environmental Protection Agency)
      • Less than 14% of plastic packaging, which is the fastest-growing form of packaging, gets recycled. (Natural Resources Defense Council)
      • If plastic use continues unchecked, scientists predict the ocean will have more plastic  than fish (by weight) by 2050. (World Economic Forum)

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE – SIGN THE PLEDGE!

Sign the pledge and receive a 3″ sticker to display at your business!

REDUCE SINGLE USE PLEDGE

“I, (Business Name), pledge to reduce the amount of single-use foodware distributed by this establishment such as: forks, spoons, knives, straws, napkins, bags, condiment containers, and more.

I will do this by only providing single-use foodware items to customers upon their request instead of providing them by default. I will be part of the solution to reduce the amount of single-use foodware that winds up in our landfill, rivers, and oceans.”

 

Help Spread the Word

Are you interested in helping spread the word about this pledge?

 

 – Businesses Who Have Signed –