Opinion: The Case Against Disposable Food Ware

It's indisputable that Austin is a unique city with a lot to envy: world-class live music, beautiful city parks, and an ever-expanding and evolving food scene. Yet all of these attractions that make Austin what we know and love share a common threat: trash, with disposable food ware as the main culprit. According to Upstream, a nonprofit focused on eliminating single-use items from the waste stream, 4.9 million tons of waste are generated annually from food service disposables. Austin shares this litter problem – consisting mostly of single-use food and beverage items – with a majority of other cities in the U.S.

Think back to your last concert, walk around Ladybird Lake, or casual dining experience. Were there single-use cups, plastic utensils, and/or other disposable food ware items in that experience? Rarely can you have a day out without encountering single-use food ware either as part of your food and drink orders or as litter in the waterways and streets of our city. It's heartbreaking to see this and realize despite our eccentricity, Austin is playing the same tune as other cities when it comes to plastic pollution. Being born and raised in Austin, I feel a responsibility to shed light on this pervasive issue that is threatening some of our city's most loved features. We must address this as a community to make the greatest impact.

Your first thought may be: Why not organize a few trash cleanups around the city? While this may be helpful, it doesn't address the root cause of the issue. The most effective waste diversion strategies are to avoid items entering the waste stream at all. We do this by switching to reusable food ware and opting out of receiving single-use items in our to-go orders along with other small changes. Most people believe that recycling and composting are the answers to the single-use problem, but the reality is, we simply aren't going to recycle and compost our way out of this. With Austin's rapid population growth and the limited remaining capacity in the local landfill, Austinites need to act now.

This complex issue requires a creative and diversified approach to ensure success. There are various local businesses and organizations working to address our reliance on single-use items. For example, the Austin Reuse Coalition (ARC) is currently organizing a public outreach campaign, Restaurant Blitz, to highlight and analyze the single-use food ware challenges we're facing. Starting this June, ARC is hosting multiple meetups for Austinites to explore the food scene while providing valuable feedback to identify the single-use items that are entering the waste stream from food facilities. The goal is to develop a comprehensive representation of single-use waste from restaurants throughout the city by gathering over 5,000 reviews by the end of this year. With this information, ARC will be able to better guide businesses toward a reuse culture specific to Austin.

In addition to participating in events like Restaurant Blitz, we can incorporate small changes that can collectively have a big impact. Next time you order takeout, opt out of receiving disposable items like plastic utensils and condiment packets. If you go to a coffee shop to work, ask for a reusable mug instead of using a disposable cup. These actions keep these single-use items out of the waste stream and can even save restaurants money. Austin's live music, parks, and food scene will only improve with less waste, so let's make it happen and be a city that stands out amongst the rest in the fight against single-use plastic!

Jessica Fleming was born and raised in Austin and holds a degree in bioenvironmental sciences. She is passionate about promoting sustainable practices that support a circular economy. To stay plugged into all things sustainability, Jessica is a member of several organizations focused on various facets of sustainability, including the Austin Reuse Coalition and the International Society of Sustainability Professionals.