Can the tableware be recycled and reused after eating takeout? can the recycling mode work?

Disposable tableware mode

In the field of takeout, the development of "recycled tableware model" is also in constant exploration.

Recycled tableware mode

In this mode, the cutlery, lunch box and outer packaging of takeout all have the attribute that can be reused many times. Like the utensils used in eating, they can be used again after cleaning and disinfection. At present, however, there are still many challenges to be faced if the "recycled tableware model" is to continue to operate in life. In the case of the widespread existence of the existing disposable packaging mode, how can "recycled tableware" win the favor of users who pursue time efficiency and convenience?

Some key challenges faced by the recycled tableware model

# 1

Lunch box requirements

The lunch box containing food should be well sealed, harmless to the human body, durable and easy to clean. In order to meet the needs of distribution and deployment, it is also necessary to meet the appropriate size, weight and implantable chip conditions. For example, stainless steel lunch boxes are prone to sanitary dead corners (roll edges) in the cleaning process; ceramic lunch boxes are beautiful and easy to clean, but their weight is easy to break, so it is difficult to use them many times; silicone lunch boxes have the advantages of light weight, high temperature resistance and non-stick oil, but the problem of chip implantation needs to be solved; how to ensure the hygiene and safety of lunch boxes to consumers is very important.

The hem of stainless steel lunch box is easy to have sanitary dead corner.

# 2

The cost of consumer use becomes higher.

Take-out disposable plastic lunch boxes meet the low-cost needs of catering merchants and consumers. Under the one-time takeout mode, consumers who buy one-person takeout generally only need to pay a packing fee of 1: 2 yuan and a distribution fee of 0: 7 yuan, in addition to the price of the meal itself, and there is no need to pay additional garbage disposal fees for takeout. Under the existing garbage sorting system, it is only necessary to put the take-out packaging and domestic waste together after the meal.

In a wholesale website, the general PP lunch box price is mostly in the price range of 1-3 cents. For catering merchants, the cost of purchasing this kind of lunch box packaging takeout meals is relatively low.

The unit price of PP lunch box is lower in the wholesale website.

In the recycled tableware mode, additional cost input from recycling, cleaning, disinfection and other links will likely increase consumers' take-out expenses, and consumers will also be likely to spend more time and labor costs on tableware return.

# 3

Limitations of application scenarios

In order to ensure the quality of meals and the efficiency of distribution, takeout services generally set the corresponding distribution scope. Compared with the one-off model, the recycled tableware model also increases the process of "consumer return-reverse logistics recovery-cleaning and disinfection-re-release". On this basis, the recycled tableware model may have higher requirements for the scope of the service area.

At present, the application cases of recycled tableware on a certain scale basically take colleges and universities as the business scene. Its main advantages are: 1) the scope of the university is small, it is a semi-closed area, and the recycled tableware mode is easy to form a closed loop within the campus; 2) the mobility of teachers and students in the university is relatively small, the ordering crowd is dense, and the ordering scene is relatively fixed, which reduces the pressure and time consumption of tableware distribution and recycling. 3) the canteens of colleges and universities are equipped with cleaning and disinfection lines that can receive a large number of tableware, which is a key link for the successful operation of the recycled tableware model.

Combining the above advantages, coupled with a reasonable setting of ordering, picking up, returning tableware process and equipment, so that its sustainable and efficient operation in colleges and universities has a high feasibility.

However, outside the university scene, the recycling model faces the following challenges: the delivery users and takeout merchants are scattered, the distribution scope is wider than that of the campus, and it is difficult to form a closed loop; lack of special cleaning lines and warehouses; after tableware cleaning, it also requires labor costs to be redistributed from the warehouse to the merchant. If the recycled tableware model is to be applied in more scenarios, it still needs the industry stakeholders to continue to explore feasible solutions.

# 4

Lack of adequate policy support

Opportunities and challenges coexist

Disposable plastic packaging is still the mainstream choice for businesses and consumers today, but with the strengthening of national control over plastics, merchants and consumers are likely to pay higher costs on take-out tableware in the future. Among the many alternatives, the recycling tableware model can be optimized to meet consumers' demand for convenience as much as possible, reduce the cost paid by consumers, and also reduce the input cost of businesses. The recycled tableware model also needs to let consumers fully understand its advantages and improve consumers' confidence in its use.

The sustainable development of the takeout industry needs to be comprehensively considered from multiple perspectives. Under the background of "double carbon" strategy, whether for "disposable packaging mode" or "recycled tableware mode", the whole takeout industry should think about how to effectively help reduce carbon emissions. Especially for the "recycled tableware model", which is far from mature, in addition to solving the problems and challenges mentioned in this article, its social, economic and environmental benefits also need to be analyzed and verified in order to tilt the balance of the industry more towards it.

If the small cycle of the cycle mode can be realized within a quarter of an hour's life circle, and if many life circles are added together, there will be an opportunity to create a big cycle of the whole society. This may also be a future worth looking forward to, and it is all the more necessary for the industry stakeholders to take that crucial first step.

Endnote

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