How do you decide where to order your take-out or delivery meal? Definitely, you want delicious food. And for some people, reducing waste is also an important consideration. These sustainability-focused folks factor in how the restaurant packages their meal. Does the restaurant package food in single-use plastic or Styrofoam? Do they automatically toss in excess extras, such as dressing packets, plastic utensils, and plastic straws?
To help diners reduce waste, these two apps help you find and support restaurants that are making planet-friendlier packaging choices. While the apps’ databases likely are limited, the companies are eager to expand their listings of eateries and regions. They welcome participation from diners and restaurant owners.
PlasticScore
PlasticScore rates restaurants by ranking them one to five turtles. Restaurants with a score of five turtles rock with zero single-use items. High-ranking restaurants might also loan out reusable bowls and utensils. Or they might allow diners to supply their own take-out packaging from home.
“Our rating is based on reviews of dine-in and takeout experiences by our users,” the PlasticScore website states. “Our users are guided through a series of questions such as how many single-use items they received, what are the items made of, and whether they had the option to compost or recycle. From there, we calculate a score based on these answers …”
In addition to ranking restaurants for users’ dining decisions, the app also aims to encourage other restaurants to use sustainable packaging. “The transparency from our turtle-powered rating creates healthy competition between restaurants to reduce waste, and we use the data from your reviews to give them targeted recommendations for how to improve,” the PlasticScore website states.
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