Tip of the Week: Forego Restaurant Takeout Containers and BYO

Before leaving to go out to dinner in a restaurant, consider bringing a reusable container to take home leftovers.  A reusable sandwich bag will come in handy to bring home any portion of a sandwich to enjoy in the next day or two.  It’s so easy to do this and it will save the restaurant on its cost of takeout containers, while reducing waste.  Taking an action of this kind is similar to bringing reusable bags with you when you shop at supermarkets and convenience stores like CVS and Walgreens.
Also, when ordering takeout food from restaurants, ask if you can bring your own reusable containers to have them filled with your order when you arrive for pickup at the restaurant.  When Green Newton Board member, Karen Bray recently placed her takeout order by phone with Sichuan Gourmet House in Newton Highlands, they kindly agreed to use her own reusable containers that were filled with her order when she arrived at the restaurant.  Think of all the plastic waste that can be avoided if more people plan ahead in this way.
Headline Photo: Williams College and Cornell University have begun a program using reusable takeout containers where the students exchange a special token for a reusable takeout container filled with food. The student receives the token back once they bring the takeout container back for cleaning and reuse.