According to Greenpeace, 770 tons of waste are generated every day from food and drinks “to go”. The reusable requirement for take-away products, which has been in effect since 2023, has not been able to change this.
Iris Prencipe stands at the counter of her Italian restaurant “Da Vinci” in Bad Kreuznach. Reusable plastic containers in different sizes, colors and shapes are stacked in front of her. Many of them are still in their original packaging – due to lack of demand. The restaurateur purchased the containers for soups, salads, spaghetti, etc. at the end of 2022, shortly before the reusable offer requirement came into force in the catering industry.
Prencipe says she and her team wanted to be prepared for anything. Ultimately, they used the reusable containers extremely rarely: “Hardly anyone wanted it from the start.” In the first year, a total of just 15 dishes were served in reusable packaging at “Da Vinci” – with an average of 100 dishes that the restaurant sells outside the house every day. Prencipe believes that the six euro deposit and the request to return the reusable tableware deterred many of her guests. She’s not really surprised about it.
Iris Prencipe in her restaurant “Da Vinci” in Bad Kreuznach.
Interest has waned
The experience at the Mainz sushi restaurant “Buddhas” was different: Chef Markus Schäfer says that immediately after the introduction of the reusable requirement for take-away products at the beginning of 2023, customer interest was great. He estimates that one in four people took advantage of the offer in February and March last year.
After that, however, the demand for reusable packaging fell surprisingly quickly. Schäfer says that he and his colleagues now only sell ten to 15 percent of the food in reusable packaging. This means that the sushi restaurant is still well above the national average.
According to the nature conservation organization WWF, the reusable share in the catering industry nationwide was 1.6 percent last year. This means that the rate has at least doubled compared to 2022; For WWF spokeswoman Laura Griestop, the legal obligation to offer reusable products has clearly failed to achieve its goal so far. Thomas Fischer from German Environmental Aid (DUH) even speaks of a “non-starter” in this context.
Few controls, hardly any penalties
As Griestop and Fischer say, many restaurateurs simply do not take the obligation to offer reusable products seriously, also because the municipalities do not monitor and sanction enough due to personnel and financial bottlenecks.
The Rhineland-Palatinate consumer advice center reports on random samples. The result: Many companies do not offer reusable packaging at all – or only offer it for sale. This is prohibited, the containers must be returned for a deposit. Spokeswoman Sophie Röckert suspects that numerous restaurateurs want to avoid reusable packaging by not adequately informing customers about this packaging option.
Figures from Ludwigshafen confirm the assumptions of consumer and environmental advocates: According to a spokesman, last year the city routinely checked 125 outlets that offer take-away food and drinks. Violations regarding reusable materials were found almost everywhere.
Legal loopholes
Another problem for consumer advocate Röckert are loopholes in the law. Currently, only businesses that sell food in plastic packaging outside the home would have to offer reusable containers. Röckert says that this is why many restaurateurs no longer offer their dishes in disposable plastic dishes, but in paper, cardboard, cardboard and aluminum foil. Although this is legal, it contradicts the purpose of the law, which is to avoid waste. The government has announced that it will change the packaging law again on this point.
The hotel and restaurant association DEHOGA advocates paying more attention to customers. Ultimately, this is the one who has to accept the reusable offer. According to Rhineland-Palatinate DEHOGA boss Gereon Haumann, this will only happen if “handling” becomes significantly easier.
There are currently too many different systems with too many different vessels and too few providers in the area. The goal must be to be able to return reusable food packaging as quickly and easily as an empty soda bottle. Ideally, providers would agree on uniform containers – which can be returned to many locations.
Return columns as a solution?
How this could actually work is currently being worked out in Mainz and Wiesbaden. The “Reusable Model City” pilot project of the “Reusable To-Go” initiative has been running here since last summer. It is supported, among others, by the Hessian and Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of the Environment. The aim is to set up a return structure for reusable packaging that is as comprehensive as possible – through return columns in public spaces, but also through a large number of participating companies.
In the future, it should be conceivable to buy a meal at snack bar A and either hand in the associated reusable packaging at bakery B – or put it in a vending machine. The first major practical test is scheduled for the end of February. Customers and companies can then test the system for around a month. If everything works out, it could also be used in other cities in Germany in the foreseeable future.