Logistics company Gently is teaming up with DeliverZero to create a sustainable zero-waste food delivery option for LA residents in the US.
DeliverZero is a New York-based reusable takeout packaging system. It offers returnable restaurant takeout containers.
The partnership between these two companies aims to reduce waste generated from single-use food containers. Providing consumers with an easy mechanism for returning their used food containers to participating restaurants minimizes the environmental impact.
Sustainable food containers
About 561 billion single-use food service items are used annually in the US. DeliverZero’s reusable food containers make it easy for restaurants and delivery companies to offer customers a more sustainable option. After customers use their takeout, delivery paper, and plastic, they end up in the dustbin and landfill sites.
DeliverZero says that using reusable takeout packaging systems eliminates 54% of emissions associated with single-use takeout packaging.
A ‘like-minded’ partnership
“We’re thrilled to partner with a like-minded brand in sustainable innovation fueling the circular economy. Our goal is to provide DeliverZero with the logistics capabilities and transportation infrastructure to reduce restaurant take-out waste in the LA area significantly,” says Gently co-founder Elian Pres-Gurwits.
“Our network of nano fulfillment centers in greater Los Angeles will enable the DeliverZero vision to transform the food delivery industry,” says Pres-Gurwits.
Lauren Sweeney, DeliverZero CEO, admits that going green is a challenging route for restaurants. Restaurants focus on time, speed, and convenience. “The biggest argument against reuse is that it’s too complicated and costly. With the right logistics – affordable, fast, and consistent – reuse works.”
How it works
Some LA-based restaurants using reused containers include Lazy Daisy and Planta. Their customers can choose DeliverZero’s reusable food containers when placing online orders.
Consumers can use reusable containers when ordering directly from the restaurant and via other third-party delivery services. DeliverZero sends customers a message after they receive their delivery, requesting a post-delivery pickup.
Customers must wash their reusable containers before returning them to the restaurant for reuse. Gently provides the logistics and transport in the process. It also allows associated brands and retailers to fulfill same-day pickup and delivery standards across major US cities.
Single-use plastic’s impact on the environment
In Australia alone, 20 million tons of garbage end up in landfills yearly, mainly around capital cities. That’s 40% of Australia’s total waste ending up on landfill sites. Most of it is plastic. According to the University of Columbia, plastic is degradable, even traditional plastic. Even when broken into tiny bits, it doesn’t mean nature can’t absorb it. Micro-plastics are everywhere in the world, in water and humans.
Birds often mistake shredded plastic bags for food, filling their stomachs with toxic rubbish. Sea turtles mistake floating plastic for jellyfish. According to the Centre for Biological Diversity, a plastic bag takes 1,000 years to degrade in a landfill.
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