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A Supermarket Against Waste

In Denmark, the first supermarket has opened that sells food past the best-before date.

Best before date, brown speckled bananas, a dented Tetra Pak: most of us wrinkle our noses at such goods. The result of this picky shopping behavior is 82 kilos of food per capita that is thrown away in Germany every year – even though it would have been edible without hesitation.

Social supermarket in Copenhagen

After a law came into force in France in February of this year that prohibits supermarkets from throwing away food, a pilot project in the Danish capital Copenhagen is now causing a stir. The social supermarket “WeFood” sells food that would be thrown away in other supermarkets because it does not meet the ideal of beauty, has been damaged in transit, or has passed its sell-by date.

The store, which opened last Monday, offers a wide variety of groceries, including bread, vegetables, fruit, and frozen goods. The prices are 30 to 50 percent lower than in a normal supermarket.

Celebrities were guests at the opening: None other than Princess Mary inaugurated the food supermarket in the Amager district, together with the (now resigned) Danish Minister for Food and Health, Eva Kjer Hansen. This reflects the position the small Scandinavian country places on the fight against food waste.

“The new supermarket with expired groceries is a great start on our way to waste less food and resources,” Minister Hansen told the online magazine The Local. “There are still too many regulations that don’t contribute to food safety, but make it difficult or prevent the sale of food past its best-before date.”

Supermarket of the volunteers

The ceremonial opening of the WeFood market was preceded by a year of hard work: the equivalent of almost 135,000 euros was collected via crowdfunding for the project, which is run by the Danish church’s emergency aid. Church officials fought tough negotiations with the Danish government to get permission to sell expired food. It was only when some regulations were changed that the social supermarket could become a reality.

The project is supported by the supermarket chains Føtex and Danske Supermarked, which contribute the lion’s share of the range. WeFood obtains fresh fruit and vegetables from a smaller, independent supplier. Only volunteers work in the WeFood supermarket; the proceeds benefit the work of the Danish church emergency aid in the poorest countries in the world.

Anyone traveling in Copenhagen will find the WeFood supermarket at Amagerbrogade 151, 2300 København. Opening hours: Monday to Friday 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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Lifestyle

Do Pizza Boxes and Handkerchiefs Belong in The Waste Paper? This Can Be Disposed of in The Paper Bin

Handkerchiefs, pizza boxes, books: can all of that really go in the paper bin? inFranken.de explains popular recycling mistakes – and lists what really can go in the waste paper.

Separating paper waste correctly: This is how you know what can go in the waste paper

Since some types of paper are coated, not all types are equally suitable for waste paper. In general, coated types of paper are not allowed in the waste paper bin. The “tear test” can be used to determine whether the paper is coated. The product is torn and observed to see whether a wafer-thin film can be seen at the tear. If this is the case, the material is coated. However, if fibers can be seen during the tear test, the paper is not coated and it can be recycled – i.e. put in the waste paper bin.

Paper waste is usually collected in paper bins but also at recycling centers. The waste is then taken to a sorting facility where, for example, cardboard is separated from mixed paper. In order to recycle the material, it is dissolved and shredded. The resulting pulp is then dewatered, dried and rolled out into paper webs. Then new products can be made.

For example, new newspaper, office paper, toilet paper and cardboard can be made from the recycled paper.

It really should go in the paper bin

There are a number of paper products that can usually be disposed of in the waste paper bin without any problems.

The following list of permitted waste for the waste paper bin should be clarified with the respective municipality if anything is unclear.
newspapers
magazines
catalogues
Books
brochures
writing paper
cardboard boxes
cardboard
paper packaging
shoe boxes

That doesn’t belong in the paper bin

However, there are also products that contain paper that should never end up in the paper bin. Many people make the mistake of throwing them in the bin.

In any case, soiled paper, coated material or lightweight packaging must not go into the waste paper bin.
Dirty paper
pizza boxes
sticker
labels
carbon and carbon paper
photos
beverage cartons
handkerchiefs
toilet paper
Glued paper and cardboard
napkins
wallpapers
wax paper

Where can I get a waste paper bin from?

In some regions, the price of the bin is already included in the fees for the residual waste container. In many cities or districts, you can already apply for the bins using an online form. Otherwise, you can usually find the right contact person for waste disposal in your municipality. When it comes to volume, you can often choose between a few sizes, depending on how much waste is generated. If the waste container is not sufficient, there is the possibility to take your waste to a recycling center. Do not put your extra boxes or papers next to the bin as this may result in a fine.

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Lifestyle

Separating Waste Correctly: What Really Belongs in Organic Waste – and What Doesn’t

Can kitchen towels go in the organic waste? And what about meat? You can find out here what actually belongs in the biowaste and what absolutely shouldn’t be in there.

Organic waste: This can be disposed of in it

The following may go in the organic waste:
food leftovers
eggshells
Dairy products
Meat, sausage and fish leftovers
Fruit waste (also citrus fruits)
vegetable waste
Bread and pastry leftovers
coffee and tea filters
nutshells
fallen obs
cut flowers
potting soil
weed
Grass and shrub cutting
leaves
small branches
Plants attacked by pests
Biodegradable small animal litter
small animal excrement

Newspaper in organic waste: is that allowed?

Paper kitchen towels, newspaper or commercially available paper bags can usually be used to wrap the organic waste. Since there are no longer any heavy metals in printing ink, newspaper and printed cardboard can also be composted without any problems and can therefore be disposed of with organic waste.

That doesn’t belong in the compost bin

packaged food
Flower pots (also biodegradable)
Disposable plastic crockery and cutlery
Excrement from carnivorous domestic animals
candle remains
leather scraps
chipboard wood
textiles
cotton
Meat, fish and sausage leftovers (depending on the municipality)
The wastes listed are examples and are not binding, since the various waste products depend on the recycling possibilities of the plants on site.

Where can I get a green or brown residual waste bin?

The way residual waste containers are distributed varies from region to region. In many cities or districts, you can already apply for the bins using an online form. Otherwise, you can usually find the right contact person for waste disposal in your municipality. When it comes to volume, you can often choose between a few sizes, depending on how much waste is generated. In some districts, however, you also pay for any size of residual waste volume and you also get a bio-waste bin with the same volume.

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Food

Food Waste: Baked Goods for the Trash

18 million tons of food end up in the bin every year. Including 1.7 million tons of baked goods alone, as the environmental organization, WWF found out in a new study. EAT SMARTER explains what this means for the environment, what happens to the products, and how food waste can be reduced in Germany.

Every year, 18 million tons of food end up in the trash in Germany. This affects not only private households, but also production (ignoring losses in agriculture) and processing, bulk consumers, and trade – a waste of valuable resources! A total of 18 million tons: That means that we throw away about every third of food.

This is not only a major problem from an ethical point of view, but also from an ecological and economic perspective. Because raw materials, energy, and water are required, whether for the production or for the destruction of food.

Of the food thrown away, 1.7 million tons of baked goods end up in the garbage every year in Germany. There is such an enormous amount of food waste in the baked goods sector because consumers expect a large and varied range and the demand for the freshness of the products has increased.

Bakeries try to meet these expectations by offering almost their entire range until shortly before closing time. This oversupply of baked goods means that in some shops about one in five baked goods has to be thrown away.

Far-reaching consequences for the environment

“Food wastage has far-reaching consequences for our environment, because it has a negative impact on land use, eutrophication of water bodies, biodiversity, the production of pollutants, greenhouse gas emissions, etc.”, according to the environmental organization WWF, which conducted the study on food waste in the baked goods sector (1).

A harvest area of ​​398,000 hectares of arable land is required for the baked goods produced and then thrown away, which could also have been cultivated otherwise. To clarify the extent: This is an area that is roughly the size of the Balearic island of Mallorca and the state of Hamburg together.

Furthermore, the overproduction of baked goods results in 2.46 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions, which harm the environment unnecessarily. More conscious use of the available bread and baked goods would therefore make a significant contribution to protecting our resources and the climate and reducing food waste in Germany.

Especially against the background of this year’s drought in Germany, the wastage has to be questioned even more, since it also led to enormous harvest losses in the grain sector. Arable land can no longer be claimed on the scale previously used to “throw in the garbage as bread, pizza or pasta” (1).

At 49 percent, private households are the frontrunners in throwing away baked goods, followed by returns from bakeries (36 percent) and retailers (13 percent). These baked goods that are not eaten are then energetically utilized in biogas plants, destroyed in waste incineration plants, or ended up in the animal feed.

Critical: Excess baked goods become pet food

A large part of the baked goods that are not sold is processed into animal feed. This is particularly critical because the baked goods are usually shredded, including the packaging, in the feed manufacturers’ plants.

Most of the plastic is then removed again, but it can be assumed that this rarely happens without leaving any residue and that there is plastic, especially microplastic, in the animal feed. It is, therefore, possible that the animals have plastic particles in their bodies, which humans also ingest by eating meat.

Clear demand of the WWF

The WWF is in favor of computer systems better calculating the production and sale of baked goods so that excess production can be avoided and returns reduced. In addition, consumers should refrain from expecting a well-stocked counter before the shop closes – actions must be reconsidered and changed here.

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Food

Unnecessary Food Waste: That’s How Much Food Ends Up in The Trash Every Year

Food waste is a global problem. Far too often food ends up in the trash. A study shows that people who buy healthy food often throw away more. This wastes a lot of resources – and harms the environment.

Study shows: Fruit and vegetables in particular end up in the trash

The study examined the relationship between diet quality, consumer food waste and various sustainability measures. A look at the results shows that between 2007 and 2014 an average of 422 grams of food per person was thrown away every day.

Important resources are used to grow fruit and vegetables: in particular, irrigation water and pesticides are required more than for other foods. These resources are also wasted by throwing away fruit and vegetables – important resources that could have been used to grow other foods.

Wasted resources – simple household countermeasures

Accordingly, consumers who strive for high-quality nutrition are faced with the challenge of buying the right amount. Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables means buying more – which in turn increases the risk that some of it will go uneaten and end up in the trash instead. According to the researchers from the USA, this could be particularly difficult for consumers with little time and money and for families with children.

However, there are some approaches to counteract this. For example, you can enter exactly when which meal is prepared on a plan. This way you can plan better. In addition, consumers can find out how to store fruit and vegetables correctly so that the food does not become inedible. Another option is to freeze the food in between.

Impact: Waste also harms the environment

The “Federal Environment Agency” also warns against the careless disposal of food in the garbage: The authority emphasizes above all the drastic consequences this has for the environment: “More than 38 million tons of greenhouse gases are produced every year, a good 43,000 square kilometers of agricultural land are used, as well as 216 million cubic meters of water are consumed”, reports the “Federal Environment Agency”.

Conclusion: A healthier diet often goes hand in hand with increased food waste. Fruit and vegetables in particular often end up in the garbage. This not only wastes resources, but also harms the environment. However, with a few simple tips and a greater appreciation for food, this can be countered a little in the household.

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Cooking Tips

Freeze Milk: This Way You Won’t Waste a Drop Anymore

You can freeze milk if you don’t need it in the next few days or if you have a lot in stock.

Freezing milk: when does it make sense?

The popular UHT milk is ultra-high temperature, homogenized milk. Since it can be stored unopened for several months without refrigeration, it is no longer common to freeze milk. That wasn’t always the case: before UHT milk was introduced, it was more common to freeze milk to preserve it longer.

With UHT milk, this only makes sense if you have already opened the pack and cannot use the rest of the milk within a few days – for example if you rarely drink milk or if you go on vacation.
The situation is different with fresh milk (“traditionally produced”), which has only been heated to 72 to 75 degrees Celsius: This also belongs in the refrigerator unopened and can only be kept there for seven to ten days.
The so-called ESL milk (“fresh milk, longer lasting”) was heated to 127° C and can be kept unopened for three weeks. So if you have more fresh milk in stock than you need, you can freeze it and make it last longer.

Finally, there is raw milk, which is consumed less these days: it is unheated, untreated milk. This is perishable and should be used up as soon as possible. If you keep cows, goats or sheep yourself, you can freeze raw milk to preserve it without pasteurizing it first.

Disadvantages of frozen milk

Depending on which milk you use, the consistency will change as a result of the freezing process:
When freezing, the fats separate from the protein molecules in the liquid. The result: the fat settles at the bottom of the container, while the liquid above is very watery. In principle, the following applies: the higher the fat content of the milk, the more it settles.
Since all milk (except raw milk) is homogenized, this effect is not as strong: During the homogenization, the milk fat droplets are significantly broken up, which is why they mix better with the liquid.
You can counteract this fat-protein separation by shaking the milk vigorously before freezing. After you have thawed them, you should definitely shake them vigorously again.
Also, milk loses some of its flavor when it freezes. Therefore, frozen milk that has been thawed again is better suited for baking and cooking than for drinking on its own or with muesli.

Freezing milk: step-by-step instructions

If you want to freeze milk, you should consider a few points. This is the best way to go about it:
Choose a suitable container in which you want to freeze the milk: You can simply use the milk carton for this. Of course you can also use a plastic bottle. However, (thick-walled) glass vessels are more sustainable. The danger here: Since the milk expands when it freezes, the bottle can burst under pressure.
For this reason, do not fill the vessel to the brim. This is particularly important for solid containers made of glass or hard plastic. Instead, leave at least 1/5 of the container free as a precaution. Then you can also use (thick-walled) glass containers without any problems. Label the container with the current date. This way you can later see when you froze the milk and how long it can be kept. Info: Milk keeps for about three months in the freezer.
Place the container in the freezer. Glass jars in particular should first be placed in the freezer with the lid open and only closed when the milk is completely frozen. This will ensure that the jar does not burst.
Shelf life: Frozen milk can be kept for up to three months. It should also remain edible beyond that, but it can lose its taste. After thawing, you should use the milk in a maximum of five days. If it was already open for a few days before freezing, this time is reduced accordingly.

Milk ice cubes: Alternatively, you can also freeze the milk in portions as ice cubes. Simply fill in a suitable form. You can then thaw the frozen milk again as needed – for smoothies, for example. In addition, ice cubes also thaw faster than a large block.

Thaw and use frozen milk

You should never thaw frozen milk under heat – not with hot water or even in the microwave. Otherwise, the components of the milk cannot combine properly again.

Instead, you can thaw milk in two different ways:
In the fridge: The milk thaws slowly, which can take more than a day depending on the quantity.
In cold water: Put the container with the frozen milk in a cold (!) water bath. Then thawing takes from a few hours to half a day.
Important: After thawing, you should definitely shake the milk thoroughly so that the individual components combine well.

You can then use the milk as usual. However, it is only suitable for drinking to a limited extent, but it is suitable for baking and cooking. It is also advisable to add the milk, which is still very cold or slightly frozen, to smoothies – a refreshment, especially in summer.

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9 Tips on How to Avoid Food Waste During The Holidays

Christmas dinner is about feasting with the family. But when we dine so festively, we should be all the more careful not to waste food. Avoid holiday food waste with these tips.

The rest of the Christmas roast ends up in the garbage, the dumplings would have been enough for several large families. It seems absurd: At the festival of love, we treat food in a particularly careless way. And on the other hand, we often become more aware during this time that other people are in need and, for example, dependent on the food banks.

Food waste is a problem at any time of the year

It should actually be a matter of course throughout the year that we handle food carefully and prevent food waste wherever possible. But the numbers are sobering: According to a study commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, every consumer throws away around 75 kilograms of food every year.

47 percent of this waste in households would be avoidable and another 18 percent partially avoidable. Unavoidable food waste is, for example, egg, onion or banana skins, which of course we could not eat. We are responsible for the rest ourselves because we shop wrong or throw away food too early.

The best tips against food waste at Christmas

For the Christmas days, when we often feast a lot or have to provide more people with (celebratory) food than in everyday life, you should consider the following things – to prevent unnecessary food waste from the outset.

1. Plan the Christmas menu carefully

How many people come to the feast, which ingredients do you need exactly, what do you cook for lunch and dinner on all public holidays? The more far-sighted you are planning the Christmas menu, the more targeted you can buy the right quantities. That way, there are no exaggerated hamster purchases, some of which end up in the trash.

2. Talk to guests beforehand

It can also be helpful to involve family members in the planning: how many dumplings does your uncle like to have as a side dish? Does the little sister even want a soup beforehand or is that too much for her? Of course, it should be possible to have a second helping if someone is hungrier than expected. But if you make menu planning as individual as possible, you can influence that less is left over overall.

3. Offer lighter fare

Many families have traditional dishes that are served at Christmas. Anyone who is open to modifying traditions a little can try to make what is often very heavy fare lighter. Roast goose with red cabbage and dumplings is hearty and filling – there is a high risk of not eating everything. How about a fresh salad as a side instead? Fish or vegetarian main dishes are also less digestible and the risk of food waste is reduced.

4. Prefer loose goods when shopping

In order to buy the right amount of food as precisely as possible, it is advisable not to use large packs. It is better to buy loose than packaged goods or choose groceries from the deli counter. By the way, this has two advantages: Not only can you more easily adjust the purchases to the number of guests, but you also avoid unnecessary packaging waste.

5. Buy last-minute fresh produce

Do all the Christmas shopping a few days in advance? That’s not a good idea. It makes more sense to procure all food that can be stored well for a long time with sufficient lead time. If the menu includes fresh items like lamb’s lettuce and perishable fruits and vegetables, ideally stock up on those ingredients the day before Christmas Eve. This way you ensure that the food for the feast does not spoil beforehand – causing food waste and despair in the kitchen.

6. Serve small portions

Christmas dinner is the epitome of gluttony. Still, we don’t have to encourage the habit of overeating. Serve multiple courses, but each in small portions – so all guests feel spoiled without the feast getting out of hand. Eating less often means less food waste.

7. Store leftovers properly

If something is left over after the feast, the elaborately prepared meal does not have to end up in the garbage. Store the leftovers in separate containers in the fridge – note the different temperature zones -, freeze them (label with the current date!) or preserve them in some other way, for example by boiling them down. Very important: Do not leave meat and fish at room temperature for a long time and it is best to freeze both immediately after eating.

8. Use the leftovers creatively

Aside from the fact that a second portion of Christmas dinner tastes just as good for lunch the next day: be creative and think about how you can use the leftovers to make something new that is just as delicious. Leftover raclette meat can be fried, for example, and used in casseroles, cold in salads, etc. Leftovers taste cold with tartar sauce, with salad or as a sandwich. Diced and fried with an egg in a pan, dumplings become a completely different dish.

9. Make other people happy

The nice elderly woman who lives next door is spending Christmas alone? She will certainly be happy if you bring her a portion of roast or a piece of stollen if you have miscalculated the amount. You can probably think of another way to make other people happy with a part of your celebratory meal!

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What You Can do With Your Organic Waste: 4 Ideas

Vegetable and fruit peels, seeds and coffee grounds all too often end up in the organic waste – although you can still use them all.

Each year throws in the trash about 80 kilograms of food. In addition, in the organic waste container, the least attention is paid to proper separation. It’s time to take a closer look at what we’re throwing into organic waste, and it’s really the least ough least ough.

Just eat the shell

With many types of fruit and vegetables you can eat the peel without hesitation. Apples and pears are no surprise candidates, but many people don’t know that the peels should even be eaten here, as they contain up to two-thirds of the vitamins.

Beetroot, kiwi, khaki, carrot and fig – with all these varieties you can save yourself the peeling. The peels of oranges are not poisonous, but due to their thickness they are not particularly digestible either. Hokkaido pumpkins also do not need to be peeled. And even the mango can be eaten with its skin.

However, you should definitely make sure that it is organic vegetables and fruit. Because conventional fruit is often contaminated with pesticides – up to 100 times more than organic, with kiwis the values ​​were even up to 3000 times higher.

Pull plantlets from shoots

If potatoes, onions, garlic and ginger are stored for a longer period of time, they form small sprouts that are all too often cut off and end up in organic waste. Instead of throwing them away, you can easily grow new plants from them: To do this, cover the white end piece in a container with about 1/3 of water and place it on the windowsill. After just a few days you will have a little seedling.

You can either chop it up and eat it in a salad, for example, or plant it properly. There will probably not be an onion harvest, but at least a beautiful, white onion blossom. However, be careful: If the sprouts of a sprouted potato are already very large, then eat neither the sprouts nor the potato – they form the toxic substance solanine. Garlic and sprouted onions, on the other hand, are harmless.

Plant or eat avocado seeds

Also not really productive, but at least nice to look at: A self-grown avocado tree. To do this, either plant the core of the avocado directly in the ground or first put it in a glass of water. With the second method, the core should be about halfway into the water. In a sunny spot with regular water, it will start to germinate after a few weeks. When a long root has developed, you can transplant the core into a flower pot.

What many do not know: the avocado seed in particular contains numerous healthy nutrients, valuable fiber and amino acids. They help fight high cholesterol. Nevertheless, the core ends up in the garbage far too often. You can also easily make tea from it or use it as a topping for salads and smoothies: Wash the core well, dry it, chop it up with a grater and roast it on a low level.

Coffee grounds: face mask, fertilizer, shampoo

This is how easy it is to make a nourishing peeling mask from coffee grounds: Mix five teaspoons of cooled coffee grounds, one teaspoon of honey and one teaspoon of olive oil. Apply the face mask and leave it on for 30 minutes. For an additional peeling effect, rub the mask with warm water when washing it off.

Fertilizing with coffee grounds is also known: enrich the potting soil with one or two tablespoons before planting, so the soil gains additional nutrients. Of course, this also works with plants that have already been used or in larger quantities in your own garden.

But even apart from its use as a face mask and fertiliser, the coffee grounds can do a number of things: for example, neutralize the smell of the refrigerator because it absorbs ambient odours. Or make your hair shiny. Simply leave the coffee grounds in your hair for ten minutes and then rinse them out thoroughly. You can also use leftover coffee grounds to dye fabric or Easter eggs, or use them as a grill cleaner with a sponge.

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Food

Broccoli: Utilize the Stalk and Avoid Food Waste

Broccoli stalks often end up in organic waste – not only are they edible, they are also very tasty. You can use the stalk in various dishes. We give you some suggestions.

In most broccoli recipes, the small florets play the main role – the broccoli stalk, on the other hand, is usually not intended for use. However, if you peel it and remove any woody parts, you can prepare it just like the florets, for example by boiling, steaming or frying it. Compared to the florets, the broccoli stalk has a particularly fine and mild aroma.

You can therefore add the stalk to many dishes that contain broccoli, simply peeled and cut into small pieces – for example Asian vegetable pans, pasta dishes or vegetable casseroles. If you are preparing a broccoli soup, you can cook and puree the stalk as well.

By the way: It doesn’t matter which recipe you use the broccoli stem for – it’s best to buy your vegetables in organic quality. So you can be sure that it comes from organic farming and contains no chemical-synthetic pesticides. In order to avoid long and CO2-intensive transport routes, it is also worth buying vegetables that are regional and seasonal whenever possible. You can get fresh broccoli from German cultivation, for example, from June to November. You can read about the seasons of many other types of fruit and vegetables in our seasonal calendar.

Broccoli mashed potatoes with broccoli stalk

Ingredients:

150 g potatoes
1 clove(s) garlic
250 g broccoli stalk
100 ml vegetable cream (e.g. oat cream)
1 tablespoon vegan margarine
salt and pepper

Directions:

Wash the potatoes, peel them and cut them into small cubes. Peel the garlic clove.
Wash and peel the broccoli stalk, removing any woody parts. Then cut it into pieces.
Bring the diced potatoes to a boil in the vegetable cream. Add the chopped broccoli stalk and the whole clove of garlic and let all the ingredients cook together for 20 minutes.
Finally add the margarine and let it melt. Mash everything until you get a homogeneous consistency and season with salt and pepper. Alternatively, you can also use a hand blender, but then the consistency will be a bit more liquid. Tip: The broccoli stalk puree tastes good with patties, oven-roasted vegetables or fried tofu, for example.

Crunchy vegetable salad with broccoli stalk

Ingredients:

1broccoli stalk
1carrot
1 small kohlrabi
1 small onion
1half apple
1 handful of peanuts
1 tbsp oil (e.g. sunflower oil)
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 pinch(s) of salt
1 pinch(s) of pepper
1 pinch(s) of sugar

Directions:

wash the vegetables Peel the broccoli stem and remove any woody parts.
Peel the carrot, kohlrabi and onion.
Core the apple half.
Finely dice the onion and apple. Chop the peanuts.
Roughly grate the broccoli stalk, carrot and kohlrabi.
Heat the oil in a pan. Add the shredded broccoli stalk, carrot, and kohlrabi and sauté over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. They shouldn’t turn brown.
Then add the diced onions and the chopped peanuts and fry them briefly until the onions start to become translucent.
Then remove the vegetables from the pan and let them cool.
Add the vinegar and season with salt, pepper and sugar. Then let the salad soak for at least half an hour.

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Food

Food-to-go Without Packaging Waste

Especially during the corona pandemic, we should support local gastronomy – for example by ordering take-away food. However, mountains of garbage with food packaging are not an option from an environmental point of view. Reusable containers for food-to-go can be the solution. We present four initiatives to you.

Disposable cups for coffee-to-go are not necessary – many have now understood that and can only fill their coffee in the bakery or in the café into the container they have brought with them. Unfortunately, during the corona pandemic, this no longer works in all restaurants; many bakeries no longer accept cups you have brought with you. That’s why many of us seem to be falling back into old paper cup habits these days.

But that’s not all: Due to the Corona-related restaurant closures or now for fear of infection, many people have food delivered or take it home. This is good for gastronomy, but: Styrofoam packaging, aluminum trays and plastic bags quickly pile up after the meal. And what the pizza boxes on river and lake shores are to in the summer, the paper cups are to the colder months of the year.

Figures from the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) show that packaging waste in German households is constantly increasing. In 2018, we caused a new negative record of 18.9 tons of packaging waste, as the UBA recently announced. When walking, it is currently noticeable: In many places, the packaging waste no longer even fits in the garbage cans provided, but ends up in the meadow or next to the sidewalk.

Less packaging waste: food-to-go in reusable containers

Dishes to take away or calling the delivery service do not necessarily mean more packaging waste. Reusable systems for food-to-go show that there is another way. We present four Germany-wide examples.

Of course, the following applies to all reusable containers: the more often they (can) be reused, the better. When it comes to the eco-balance, reusables come off much better if one container can replace a large number of disposable cups and the like, making production quicker to pay off.

Reusable with food-to-go

According to its own statement, reCIRCLE Germany is the largest reusable system for takeaway food in German-speaking countries that works with a deposit system. The initiative has existed in Stuttgart since 2017.

This is how it works: The first time you order a reCIRCLE box from a participating restaurant for a deposit of ten euros. You can return the leak-proof and non-toxic plastic box to any participating restaurant and get your deposit back or exchange the used box for a fresh one the next time you order. You can currently choose between five different box sizes. According to the company, it is currently working on additional reusable packaging for pizza.

Here there is the multi-way system: over 200 participating restaurants in Germany, for example in Stuttgart, Munich, Regensburg, Frankfurt, Bremen, Hamburg and Berlin; in Switzerland there are even over 1400 participating restaurants.

Incidentally, when it comes to the ecological balance, reCIRCLE writes that their reusable boxes may pay off after the eighth reuse, depending on the material of the disposable packaging only after the 16th use.

Reusable bowls from Rebowl for zero-waste food-to-go

Quite new on the market: Rebowl, a Germany-wide deposit system for reusable take-away bowls. According to the company, the reusable containers are microwaveable, 100 percent recyclable and BPA-free. You should also be able to reuse them at least 200 times.

Behind Rebowl stands Recup, which many of you may already know from the Recup reusable coffee mugs. Since July 2020, in addition to the Recup cups, there have also been Rebowl bowls, which – if the founders have their way – should become the Rebowlution.

This is how it works: When you order your first meal, you get the reusable bowl for a deposit of five euros. You can then return the bowl and lid to all REBOWL partners throughout Germany and get your deposit back, or you can exchange the used bowl for a new one when you place a second order.

There is a returnable system here: in numerous cities throughout Germany, for example in Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg, but also in smaller cities such as Konstanz, Braunschweig and Karlsruhe.

Vytal: reusable boxes without a deposit

Vytal is a digital reusable system for takeaway and food delivery. What makes it so special is that it can be used via an app and there is no deposit or other fee for the reusable containers. Recently, Vytal has even been certified with the Blue Angel. Among other things, the seal guarantees that the reusable containers are made of environmentally friendly and durable material and can be washed at least 500 times.

How it works: To participate, you have to download the Vytal app. After successful registration, you can use the map to see which participating restaurants are in your area. With a QR code you will receive your food in a BPA-free reusable bowl when you pick it up. Important: You have to return the bowls to a participating restaurant within 14 days of ordering, otherwise a fee of ten euros will be charged.

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