Single use plastic Archives

Join us in ditching the plastic part two: taking out the take-out boxes.

Deli food, Fresh food, Product, Single use plastic / By Amaretto Deli

Lamb Moussaka and our new cardboard take-out boxes.

Introducing our new cardboard take-away boxes

Last month we blogged about our commitment to ditching single use plastic in Amaretto Deli, after one too many horrifying accounts of what our use of throw-away plastics is doing to our oceans.

We’d just like to update you on where we’re at – yesterday we were proud in introduce our new cardboard take-away hot food boxes, and biodegradable straws. We are also now serving only wooden cutlery.

Macaroni Cheese in our new cardboard take-out boxes at Amaretto Deli

Macaroni Cheese in cardboard: looking good

Lamb Moussaka loving its new home

Amaretto Deli's takaway cartons: Product image coming soon

A stack of goodness.

Our customers have reacted really positively to these changes – it’s helping us all to feel better about our daily impact on the planet; and we’re going to keep going, watch this space.

Join us – and here’s why

To all the other small businesses (and individuals) out there, we are in many ways more fleet of foot than large businesses, let’s turn that to our advantage. Why don’t you join us in giving people what they want and need – and cut out the plastic, because this battle looms ever larger and we need to keep this revolution moving. Why? Here are some recent developments:

Plastic Island bigger than we thought

If you’re doubting the importance of all this have a look at today’s reports on research published in the journal Nature that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is greater than previously thought. Laurent Lebreton, an oceanographer and lead author of the study says:

‘We need a coordinated international effort to rethink and redesign the way we use plastics. The numbers speak for themselves. Things are getting worse and we need to act now.’

Ocean plastic will triple in the next ten years

Apart from that headache, the ocean plastic problem is set to get worse: only yesterday the Government’s The Foresight Future of the Sea Report warned that the plastic littering the ocean is currently due to treble in the next ten years. Professor Ed Green said:

‘When people get to see what is in the ocean, and the Blue Planet series and so on have helped people to visualise it, and then I think their reaction is twofold, one is complete wonder at what is there, and in other cases complete horror at what we’re potentially doing to it.’

Still not convinced? How about this report from Orb Media last week that 93% of top bottled water brands are contaminated with micro-plastics (!)

It’s easy to feel hopeless in these circumstances, but there is a great deal we can all do, and we can do it now. Do keep us updated on how you’re getting on, and we’ll do the same.

Good luck with it!

Amaretto Deli

Join us in ditching the plastic part two: taking out the take-out boxes. Read More »

Join us in reducing our use of single use plastic

Let’s get under the surface of those good-looking holiday snaps. All might look well, but if, like us, you were watching Blue Planet last year, you will also have been alarmed at the state of the oceans, the threat caused by single use plastic, not only to marine life, but to our very survival.

Last year, the UN called the levels of plastic in our oceans a ‘planetary crisis’. A truck-load of plastic ends up in the oceans every minute according to Greenpeace. The natural eco-systems in our oceans are breaking down.

Campaigns have sprung up all over the place and it seems like most people agree; things need to change if our oceans and all who depend on them are to survive and thrive. This is one band-wagon that needs to keep on rolling.

What can we do to reduce our use of single use plastic?

There are various big business and government initiatives underway to tackle single use plastic use, but it’s not enough to leave this problem to others. We need to act quickly. We need to act.

For our part, we at Amaretto Delicatessen pledge to reduce our single use plastic products, starting by:

Replacing all plastic forks, knifes and spoons in the shop with wooden alternatives. We will also encourage our customers to use reusable cutlery where possible.

Phasing out our plastic ready meal packaging over the next few months. We are currently looking at cost-effective ways to do this (it’s expensive).

Looking for alternatives to plastic water bottles and encouraging our customers to use refillable coffee cups whenever possible.

We will then look at what we can do next.

So that’s where we are at. How about you?

If every small business and individual pledged to tackle their use of single use plastic over the coming months, we could all make a considerable difference. Therefore we call on businesses and individuals to join us in ways large and small to help us all to reduce our consumption of plastic in Norwich, Norfolk, UK and beyond. We might not be able to change everything straight away, but we need to make a start.