We Need to Normalize Reusable Containers

BYO container initiatives in the US

Americans will spend a record near $1 trillion at restaurants this year. A large portion of those orders will be takeout served in the kind of throwaway packaging that dominates plastic pollution in the oceans.

We need a multi-pronged approach to address this waste. Regulation of single-use cups and to-go containers would foster swift and sweeping change. And laws are coming into effect (more on that later). But individuals can also take action by refusing single-use containers and helping to normalize BYO.

Some of the problems with takeout containers

I won’t spend too much time on this… Most to-go containers are made of plastic, which is typically made of fossil fuel. Plastic exacerbates the climate crisis and pollutes all along its lifecycle, from the extraction of raw materials, to refining the petrochemicals, to manufacture, to a short use and finally, to disposal, all too often in a landfill, incinerator or ocean, sometimes with a layover at a recycling facility.

In addition to polluting the environment, plastic pollutes us:

• Plastic containers can leach phthalates and bisphenols into food. These hormone-disrupting chemicals have been linked to all kinds of adverse health issues, such as “developmental, reproductive, brain, immune, and other problems.”

• When we consume food and drinks packaged in plastic, we also consume microplastics, tiny particles of plastic shed by the containers. The average American consumes about 50,000 microplastic particles per year.

• Expanded polystyrene (i.e., Styrofoam) food containers can leach toxic chemicals into food, such as styrene, a main component of EPS and a “reasonably anticipated human carcinogen.”

• Some paper to-go containers are lined with polyethylene (plastic) to prevent leakage. Other liners consist of expensive PLA (polylactic acid) bioplastics that do break down where facilities exist.

• Compostable paper containers may contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to render them grease- and water-proof. These forever chemicals, persist in the environment and accumulate in our bodies—but only in 98 percent of us. These compostable containers also contaminate the compost.

One solution (of many): BYO containers

Even if a take-out restaurant happens to serve its food in cardboard containers free of BPAs, phthalates or PFAS, single-use containers waste precious resources. And besides, who has the time or lab equipment at home to sort this out? Make life simple; bring your own reusable containers. Not all restaurants and cafés allow this but many do. The trick is to find those businesses.

The grassroots initiative US Reduces aims to make that search easier. This fledgling network consists of small neighborhood groups that connect BYO-friendly businesses with consumers who want their orders filled in their own reusable containers rather than throwaways.

Each local group places its BYO Reduces sticker in the windows of these businesses. See this beacon and you know you can hand over a container for your order without feeling awkward and with no questions asked aside from “How may I help you?”

So far, we have 11 groups on the US Reduces map with more groups launching.

In 2020, I met Tina Soldovieri, the founder of Roncy Reduces in Toronto, which soon expanded into Canada Reduces. In 2021, I launched a similar Reduces group here in Silicon Valley, shared info about that online, people asked me how to start a group, groups popped up here and there and this year, US Reduces launched. (Thank you Yayoi Koizumi for driving the US Reduces project!)

Sample customizable BYO Reduces designs courtesy of NYC Reduces and Clean Air Baltimore

“Please sir, I want some more in my reusable bowl.”

Want to start a group of your own?

US Reduces wants your city on the map! Start a local group and you’ll meet kindred spirits while building an in-person, face-to-face community. To create a group:

• Go here for a guide that explains how to start. Essentially, you’ll:

  • 1) Connect with neighbors.

  • 2) With stickers in hand, contact businesses.

  • 3) Spread the word.

• Fill out this form to sign up for the US Reduces newsletter and to receive meeting notifications. (Our next meeting is June 6th, 4pm ET/6pm CT/7pm PT).

• Once your group has started, get on the US Reduces map.

Oregon to reduce plastic food containers

Earlier this month, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek signed two bills into law that will reduce single-use plastic food packaging in the state.

SB543 prohibits restaurants from serving food and drinks in polystyrene. The law also bans the intentional addition of PFAS to food containers. (Because of its prevalence, PFAS sometimes appears in materials that haven’t been treated with it.) SB543 goes into effect on January 1st, 2025. Businesses that produce, sell or distribute polystyrene or PFAS-treated food packaging will pay fines of $500 per day. Vendors that use these materials will pay $100 per day.

The second law, SB545, requires the Oregon Health Authority to update codes in order to allow customers to bring their own food containers to businesses to fill. Together, these laws will a) ban toxic, polluting stuff and b) promote reusable containers, which can save businesses money, especially those that currently rely on cheap polystyrene. This law goes into effect on June 30th, 2024.

Oregon is the ninth state to ban polystyrene food packaging and the 12th to ban PFAS in food packaging. And more bills are in the works. The US federal Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act would reduce single-use plastic, shift the onus onto producers to clean up their mess, prevent pollution and more. And globally, the UN Global Plastics Treaty is currently under negotiation. (Go here to urge the US government to take a stronger stance on this treaty.)

Change is happening. We can all raise a reusable glass to that.