How much Plastic is used in resturants
Interview with TTOWA owner Terry Park
"Before Covid we didn't have many customers using takeout, however everyone being at home lead to a major increase in Takeout orders that we had to accommodate to stay open".
How has plastic consumption increased during this Pandemic compared to normal times?
"Before Covid, we tried to limit our plastic use with paper straws and various other precautions" ----- "Due to increasing takeout we have used significantly more plastic than in the past"
Are their any alternatives you have tried other than plastic for takeout
"We thought about using reusable containers for takeout". They decided against this those due to the pandemic and they did not know how customers would respond to reusing containers
Interview Takeaways
SAVING MONEY
It is hard for restaurants to limit plastic use, especially in takeout because plastic is by far the cheapest option. Making a change may help the environment but put an economic burden on resturants
Smaller restaurants may be able to make change easier as a result of not being involved in a franchise such as many major food chains. These restaurants can also take advantage of the loyalty of their customers and try new things
The struggle that Terry Park and TTOWA faced is the struggle of many small and local restaurant's. They know the harmful effects that plastic has on the environment but the burden of finding a solution falls entirely on them. When finding a solution to this problem it needs to be a group effort between the government and the restaurants in order to save money and save the environment