Just Eat develops “world’s first” biodegradable seaweed takeaway box

As part of its mission to tackle plastic pollution across the takeaway sector, Just Eat has teamed up with Notpla, a sustainable packaging start-up, to launch what is said to be the world’s first seaweed-lined box for the takeaway sector. The box is fully recyclable and can decompose in four weeks in a home compost.

It is estimated that 500 million plastic takeaway boxes are used across the UK takeaway industry each year, and even if these plastic boxes get reused multiple times, they often end up in landfill.

Just Eat is now testing Notpla’s new seaweed-lined box with three restaurant partners in London, which will reportedly stop approximately 3,600 plastic boxes from entering the waste stream.

The London trial will assess the feasibility of rolling out the box more broadly to Just Eat’s restaurant partners across the UK followed by other Just Eat markets.

Lined with seaweed, the cardboard container is made from tree and grass pulp with no synthetic additives. It has been designed to be water-resistant and greaseproof.

This project builds on Just Eat and Notpla’s existing partnership, which has been piloting the use of seaweed-based sauce sachets with a variety of restaurants. So far, the trials have reportedly stopped over 46,000 plastic sachets from entering customer homes, and they are now working with Hellmann’s to roll the sachets out even further.

“At Just Eat, we are committed to using our scale and influence to drive a more sustainable future for the food delivery industry. From removing single use plastics to pioneering the use of seaweed sauce sachets, we have already taken a number of positive steps to encourage more environmentally-friendly behaviour among our restaurant partners,” said Andrew Kenny, Just Eat UK Managing Director.

“Over half a billion plastic boxes are used across the takeaway industry every year and we know that eventually, they end up in landfill. This is why we have been working closely with Notpla to create an innovative alternative that is recyclable, home-compostable and which degrades in a matter of weeks. We are delighted to bring this new takeaway box to trial and look forward to assessing the results with the aim to roll these boxes out across the UK and our other markets, so that customers across the globe can enjoy their favourite takeaways more sustainably.”