Disposable plastic prohibited: Gastronomy is switching to reusable

So far, billions of disposable cups and lots of plastic cutlery have been part of everyday life in Germany. The ban will now change a lot for customers and hosts. Many rely on reusable systems.

Before the corona pandemic, around 320,000 disposable cups for hot beverages were used every hour in Germany, most of them made of plastic. Lots of garbage that has a massive impact on the environment. As of today, there is therefore an EU-wide ban on the sale of disposable plastic dishes. This means a major change for the “to go” industry. Whether it’s a straw, ice cream spoon, coffee mug or styrofoam box – everything has to be replaced. But which dishes will be practicable in the future?

Several deposit systems on the market

Hotels, restaurants and canteens are allowed to sell existing goods. Disposable tableware made from natural products such as wood, bamboo or potato starch can still be used. But many restaurateurs use the occasion and want to offer reusable tableware “to go”. During the lockdown, some were already being tested.

Several deposit systems are currently establishing themselves in parallel, for example Recircle or Rebowl. The guest deposits a certain amount, which varies between one euro and ten euros depending on the system and packaging. The dishes can then be returned to any affiliated partner. But there are also reusable dishes without a deposit. Vytal is one of them. Another is called Relevo. To do this, the customer has to log in to the corresponding app and then scan the QR code on the dishes to borrow them.

Sonja Obermeier is the landlady of the Klinglwirt in Munich-Haidhausen. She decided on a reusable system a year ago. The dishes are scanned with the mobile phone via QR code. Then customers can return the reusable boxes to all restaurants that use the same system. The advantage: This reusable system is free of charge for customers – provided they return the dishes within a certain period of time. If not, it will be expensive: Because the customer can be found via QR code and the dishes are billed.

More work and higher costs due to reusable use

Landlady Obermeier already has additional costs: The deposit system is more expensive than the one-way packaging made of cardboard. She pays around 30 cents for the reusable tableware, three times what a single-use cardboard box previously cost her. She calculates that two packages would be needed for a dish with a side salad. “But it’s worth it to us because we fully support the sustainability scheme with our organic concept, and it actually works very well for us.”

The bottom line is that reusable means more costs because it is more expensive to buy than one-way. It also means more work – for example cleaning, but also managing the deposit system. In addition, reusable tableware is more voluminous and therefore more space is required for storage.

Reusable pays off – especially for the environment

Regardless of whether for customers or restaurateurs: Reusable means additional work, but it is worthwhile for the environment, because according to the manufacturer, reusable packaging replaces at least 100 disposable packaging. Every cup counts, because packaging waste often ends up in parks, on beaches, but also in the streets. This is associated with high costs for waste disposal, because there it has to be picked up and taken away. Costs that ultimately every citizen pays with the waste fee. Reusable deposit systems should reduce the amount of waste in the future. Because the use of money is intended to encourage consumers to take the dishes with them and bring them back.

In addition, millions of tons of plastic waste end up in the oceans around the world every year. Around 85 percent of the garbage in the ocean consists of plastics. The North and Baltic Seas are also affected. In the water, the plastic waste is crushed into tiny particles over time. It remains in our environment for an indefinite period of time and also gets back into the human body in this detour. The trash is the cause of the agonizing death of many marine life that accidentally ingests plastic. The flood of rubbish threatens the habitats in the seas, but it also affects the recreational value for people in nature.