Despite the obligation to offer reusable take-away food, 47 percent of people in Germany have not yet used reusable packaging. This emerges from a representative survey by the opinion research institute Yougov, which was published on Tuesday. Only six percent of those surveyed regularly use reusable offers at least once a week, eleven percent once or several times a month, eleven percent even less often.
Looking at different age groups, it is noticeable that younger people between the ages of 18 and 34 use such packaging more than average. Meanwhile, among people aged 55 and over, only six percent said they did this at least once a month. 3,450 people took part in the survey. 19 percent do not buy take-away food at all, six percent did not provide any information. Since January 2023, restaurants, bistros and cafés that sell food on the go must also offer reusable packaging – provided they use disposable plastic packaging. There must be a reusable alternative for drinks. Exceptions apply to smaller shops. However, environmental and consumer advocates complain about a lack of implementation and controls.