By Zak Weinberg:
Environmental Responsibility and Fast Food
Sit down restaurants serve food upon a plate, with silverware to eat with, and a glass to drink from. To clean up after your messy self, they provide some sort of linen – folded up nice and fancy. When at last, your pant seams are about to burst, and it appears you’re 9 months pregnant, some unfortunate soul busts your table, heads to the back, and proudly performs a half-ass job at doing dishes.
The point is that everything is reused – the waste is minimized. Everything is washed and set out for the next party.
Now, at a fast food joint, there’s paper to cover the trays, origami-like contraptions to hold the burgers, cardboard for the fries, plastic silverware, metallic looking ketchup holders, paper napkins, plastic to-go bags, paper flyers, plastic cups, a toy wrapped in plastic, and trust me, the list goes on.
courtesy consumerreports.org
The waste associated with just one customer is absurd.
This raises a question:
Is it the responsibility of the consumer to ask for less packaged food, or the responsibility of fast food to package their food with environmental consciousness?
The trend shows consumers foment change in the industry.
Look at grocery stores. Many European countries charge customers for plastic bags – and America is slowly following suit. This seems like a industry to consumer change, but, environmental responsibility is a social movement, and industry is reacting.
Right now, fast-food doesn’t have a good reason to react.
Give them a reason:
When ordering at a fast food joint, say, “I don’t need the bag – reuse it.” “Or could you go ahead and just set that burger on the place mat – saves you a box.”
Also, avoid places that don’t give you a choice. The Goleta Subway next to K-Mart, for example, wraps your sandwich in paper, then wraps that in another sheet of paper, puts your cookies in a paper bag, then puts everything in a large plastic bag. They never ask for here or to go.
Don’t expect industry to change. Be the stimulus for them to change. Boycott blatant waste. Let stores know that you don’t need a bag for your single item. It starts with the customer.
Environmental responsibility is a must. Be a responsible consumer. Be a catalyst for change.
