How to recycle (and repurpose) your food delivery packaging during COVID-19
If you're anything like us, you may find yourself relying more on ready-made meal delivery or takeaway food during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially during periods of lockdown. Supporting local businesses and keeping the family full with tasty and nutritious meals is more important than ever – but it can come at a cost to the environment, with a huge amount of waste making its way into our wheelie bins.
Thankfully, you can still minimise your impact when receiving ready-made meal deliveries from Salad Servers Direct. Read on to find out how to reuse, recycle and upcycle your packaging so you can keep your food (and your footprint) clean and green.
Are meal delivery services environmentally unfriendly?
Firstly, it's important to know that you don't need to choose between convenience and a clear conscience when it comes to feeding your family. After all, almost everything we do in modern life has an impact on the environment; but the willingness and effort to minimise your part in that will make all the difference in the long run.
In fact, choosing to eat with Salad Servers Direct can help reduce your carbon footprint, as well as help you make healthier eating choices and save money by buying fewer takeaways. By preparing and delivering our meals in bulk, we can help you:
- Reduce your food waste
- Reduce your use of single-serve packaging
- Learn how to create tasty meals with seasonal, local produce
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions via travel to and from the supermarket (our drivers deliver to your area on specific days to avoid multiple repeat trips).
How do I recycle my Salad Servers Direct packaging?
Here at Salad Servers Direct, we're conscious of our impact on the environment. After all, we've been relying on top quality local produce to make our tasty meals for over 40 years, and we don’t want that to change! But we also know that packing and delivering our products leaves a footprint.
Our first priority is making sure your meals get to your door chilled and as quickly as possible. This means we insulate and pack your boxes in a way that ensures maximum freshness and food safety, resulting in a lot of packaging to dispose of. Because of that, we've been working hard to reduce waste by packing and shipping meals in bulk and using recyclable packaging wherever possible.
Salad Servers Direct Recycling guide
Place in your recycling bin:
- Power bowls
- Salad Servers cardboard box
- Prepack salads cardboard sleeve
- Prepack salad plastic container (this can also be reused!)
Place in the soft plastics bin (available at your local supermarket and at other locations):
- Silver box liner
- Plastic food bags
- Power Bowl film
Look out for the new Salad Servers Direct Recycling Guide, included in the box with your next ready-made meal delivery.
What can I do with packaging that can't be recycled or is difficult to recycle?
We understand there might be times you can't recycle excess packaging, or need to wait until a convenient time to dispose of your boxes and plastic responsibly. Luckily, there are lots of ways you can use your Salad Servers Direct packaging for creative projects that might just be lockdown lifesavers!
Arts and crafts
The plastic inserts from our Power Bowls and Café Bowls make the perfect paint palettes for amateur artists. Washable and deep enough to contain a bit of mess, just squirt in your colours and let the kids get creative. Your Salad Servers Direct cardboard box also doubles as an easy extra-large canvas for your budding Picasso!
Good to grow
Do the environment a double favour by using your empty Power Bowls to plant a variety of seeds and create a spring garden bed. These are particularly great for growing herbs that you can use to garnish your favourite Salad Servers Direct meals.
Easy storage solutions
Another one for our handy Power Bowl packaging, use the sturdy plastic bowls to store creative bits and bobs, such as coloured beads for jewellery-making, crayons, pencils and erasers, or those pesky little Lego pieces that always get lost.
Build a cardboard garage and car wash
The kids might need a bit of help with this one, but what better way to spend some time in lockdown?! Follow the steps below to make a garage and car wash out of your Salad Servers Direct cardboard box and silver foil liner:
1. Cut the side flaps off your cardboard box to make ramps
2. Cut the foil liner to create a car wash entrance
3. Paint the roads on your rooftop garage and design your car wash sign
4. Get the Hot Wheels out and enjoy your creation!
Unbreakable snack bowls
Your Salad Servers Direct family-size salad box or Power Bowl packaging can double as a handy snack bowl. With hungry kids home all day during lockdown, these are the perfect containers for chopped fruits, nuts, popcorn or any other snack – minus the constant washing up or accidental breakages!
Keep your kids pets entertained
Ordering food delivery during lockdown
All fun aside, we know lockdown can be tough. We're still here and delivering as normal to help you through, with free delivery on your favourite meals. All our deliveries are non-contact and our drivers wear gloves and masks for extra protection. So let's take one more thing off your plate during this pandemic, with ready-made, delicious, nutritious food, delivered direct to your door.
Order now at Salad Servers Direct and get $10 off your first order when you sign up to our newsletter!