The use of plastic has become a serious concern for our environment. It is estimated that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. This is a staggering fact, and it is important to take action to reduce our use of plastic. One industry that can make a significant difference is the catering industry. Catering businesses use a lot of plastic in their daily operations, from packaging to utensils. However, there are ways to reduce the use of plastic and prioritise non-plastic alternatives.
Back in 2015, we became the first company in the area of Moray Speyside to use non-plastic straws. Rather than paper straws which we felt weren’t a good alternative, we prioritised using a Vegware straw that is made using compostable items such as vegetables. Additionally, as well as using this alternative, we minimised on the usage of straws in our attempts to reduce the requirement for this item. To complete the circle, we then dispose of these in our compost bin which goes to a local company called Grays Recycling who utilise the compostable material on their farms.
Vegware as a company also became useful to us in providing fully recyclable coffee cups, lids and packaging for our takeaway items. These items, alongside their straws, are a more expensive alternative but for us and our sustainability story, the cost is worth it.
We prioritise, as much as we can, the use of locally sourced produce (which you can find out about in the next section) which provides us with the added benefit of minimising on the plastic that is used to transport these items to us. One method of decreasing on our deliveries in polystyrene (standard packaging in the fish markets) was to purchase a Yeti cooler box; one of our fish suppliers takes this away, pops our delivery into it and then delivers it back to us for us to clean out and then return to them for our next delivery. In addition, we work with Mark Murphy, a fruit, vegetable and larder item supplier who deliver most of our fruit and vegetables in non-plastic packaging such as cardboard or compostable bags. Our game comes to us fresh and mostly in its ‘raw’ state from a neighbouring Estate, allowing us to butcher and store in reusable Tupperware.