When looking at the meal delivery industry, at first glance it might seem like a very wasteful industry.
Meals come individually wrapped, in single use containers, in single use boxes.
It does appear quite wasteful.
But first impressions aren't always right, and if we dig a little deeper you might be surprised with how much less waste can be produced by ordering from a meal delivery service like Herbidoor.
REDUCING FOOD WASTE
By purchasing only items that you will eat, you can reduce food waste. This applies to both produce and packaged goods.
How many times have you gone out to buy $50 worth of ingredients to make a single recipe, only to use a small amount of the condiments and ingredients and have them sit in your cupboard or fridge until they go off?
By purchasing the meals you will eat directly, you can save time and money on food waste.
At Herbidoor we are committed to reducing food waste in our kitchen. We have partnered with our neighbouring business Tonic Juice Co to donate food scraps to local farms
We purchase dry goods in bulk lots to minimise packaging waste, opting for paper or cardboard packaging where possible.
We also cook fresh to order, so we don't have any food waste in our kitchen.
HOW THE MEALS ARE PACKAGED
As much as we would love to use the biopak or sugarcane solutions that are fully biodegradable for our meals, at the moment it isn't possible.
These containers are only designed to keep meals fresh for up to 48 hours maximum. Making them perfect for takeaway, but not for meal delivery, where meals need to arrive food safe and stay fresh for long enough for you to eat them after you receive them.
It also isn't possible to 'ozone seal' the biopak containers, creating further food safety issues.
Then there are some cardboard look containers, however these still have a plastic film for the lid, and a plastic liner inside the container to prevent the meal from leaching into the biodegradable material.
As you can see there really isn't a perfect solution at the moment.
We currently use a BPA free container as due to COVID there were supply issues with our previous packaging. We are currently working with a packaging company to introduce a new biodegradable solution and we are currently in the testing phase.
This is something we are constantly on the look out to fix, as minimising plastic usage is one of our key concerns.
This is why we use the PLA sugarcane biodegradable sauce containers in our meals (this is also why you need to remove them from the tray before you heat your meal as it starts the biodegrading process).
HOW YOUR ORDER IS PACKED
We are proud to now use a fully biodegradable/recyclable cardboard box for all orders. From the insulation to the outside of the box it is a wonderful all in one solution to minimise waste and keep your meals fresher for longer.
We use non-toxic gel ice bricks to keep your order cool. A lot of people hang onto their ice bricks to use for injuries, or to put in their esky when they go to a mates house. If you don't want to keep your reusable gel ice brick it is filled with a non-toxic gel that is safe for you to put down your drain and then you can take the outer to a red cycle facility.
We also offer a recycling program. You can send us your packaging back and we will email you a discount code for $10 off your next order. You can send your clean packaging back to us at PO Box 260 Nobby Beach, QLD 4218.
If you have any tips or suggestions on how we can be even more eco-friendly, we would love to hear them. Email them through to meals@herbidoor.com and we will investigate!
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