How to Reduce Packaging Waste when Ordering Fast Food

Like most of my friends, whenever we used to take the kids out for fast food, we'd grab extra piles of napkins, straws, hot sauce packets and other odds and ends "just to make sure." Of course, we never used all these things, and they would end up jammed in our shoulder bags to eventually end up in the trash.

Fast food restaurants produce an incredible amount of waste. It's not just those styrofoam boxes, but also the soiled paper napkins, condiment packages and plastic spoons that can't be recycled. Of course, not all the blame lies with them ~ we as consumers are equally as guilty by grabbing more than our fair share of those disposables whether we need them or not. Is this a problem? Sure it is. According to one resource, the US population thrown out enough plastic cups, spoons, and napkins in a single year to circle the globe 300 times.

In New York, the non-profit organization of EcoAgents started the Eco to Go campaign to raise public awareness about plastic and paper take-out waste. Their goal was to encourage both consumers and take-out restaurants to stop automatically including those napkins and utensils with every order.

While disposable utensils are certainly necessary if eating in the park, those items are superfluous for a meal eaten at home. And let's face it, I don't know anyone that prefers using a plastic spork for KFC when there's a perfectly good set of utensils sitting in the kitchen drawer.

Just tell your take out restaurant "Eco to Go" and ask not to include napkins, forks, and condiment packages if you plan on eating your meal at home.

Take out restaurants aren't the only place where savvy consumers can cut back on restaurant waste. Disciplining ourselves to take only what we need when ordering fast food is another way in which we can reduce what goes into the landfill. If you have messy eaters in your brood, don't feel guilty grabbing those extra handfuls of napkins.