Over the years, fast food has become more than just a place to get a quick bite to eat. Indeed, it has become an integral part of everyday life as its popularity continues to grow. However, this growth has also led to an increase in the production of plastic waste, highlighting the need to find sustainable solutions to reduce the environmental impact of these restaurants.
Although fast food is often criticized for its environmental impact, since January 1st in France, fast food chains with more than 20 seats are now prohibited from offering single-use disposable tableware for meals and drinks served at the table.
It is the anti-waste law for a circular economy called Agec law, promulgated in February 2020, which imposed these measures to fight against the multiplication of waste. These advances in terms of environmental protection had already begun with the ban on plastic straws and polystyrene boxes.
However, since this obligation, the report is not so positive. Indeed, many brands do not respect these new consumption methods.
Reusable tableware offers an ecological alternative to traditional plastic plates, cutlery, and cups. Instead of throwing away single-use plastic items after each use, reusable tableware is cleaned and used again. This significantly reduces the amount of plastic waste generated by fast food restaurants, which have long been one of the largest sources of plastic waste in the world. For example, a major fast food chain in France throws away about 115 tons of packaging per day.
The choice of reusable dishes in fast-food restaurants represents a major step forward in the protection of the environment. Restaurants produce huge amounts of waste by using disposable plastic containers, often poorly recycled, which end up polluting the environment. Disposable plastic containers are a major source of pollution because they are not biodegradable and take hundreds of years to break down. In addition, these considerable quantities of waste often end up in the environment, polluting soils, rivers, and oceans, and they can release toxic substances.
France is a pioneer in the use of reusable tableware, and England is expected to follow suit by banning the use of plastic containers by the end of the year.
Sources :
https://reporterre.net/Vaisselle-lavable-les-fast-food-en-infraction
https://www.actu-environnement.com/ae/news/zero-waste-alerte-non-respec-loi-agec-restauration-vaisselle-reemployable-41037.php4#xtor=RSS-6
https://www.zerowastefrance.org/mcdonalds-politique-dechets-contre-courant-economie-circulaire/
https://www.rtbf.be/article/vaisselle-reutilisable-dans-les-fast-foods-est-ce-vraiment-plus-ecologique-11130987
https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2023/01/14/l-angleterre-va-interdire-la-vaisselle-en-plastique-a-usage-unique_6157824_3244.html
