Take Out Food

So, I have managed to eat out a couple of times since we started the compact. My first go at eating take out food without using any sort of wrapper/container was at Lucky Star Chinese Food in Orleans. I usually get a combination plate when we get Chinese food at work, so using one of those split up dinner tray things was going to be an easy option. I also had a small Tupperware for my egg roll and the plum sauce. That's the easy part. Next came my coworkers realizing that I was going to go to the restaurant and ask them to put my food in my own containers. To some of them, this was a patently ludicrous concept. They thought I was an idiot and that the Chinese food guy would laugh at me. I thought he would be the smart businessman and realize he was saving a few cents by not giving me the containers. So after all the joking and harassment by my colleagues I went to Lucky Star and ordered our meals (can't really pre-order when they don't have your containers). The guy seemed quite confused when I proudly presented my Tupperware to him and asked for my meal in it rather than his Styrofoam containers. I had to run it by him a couple of times and he seemed quite happy to put everything in the containers I supplied. I think when he went back into the kitchen they had a little laugh at my expense, but whatever, I got the food and I am pretty sure I got more than I would have in the Styrofoam container. Back at work we all had a good laugh about me being me and doing this stuff, but it gave me the opportunity to show some of them that it really isn't that hard to do a few little things that make a difference, if only a tiny one.

Not too bad! Ignore colleagues rubbish everywhere.

My next try was Subway. I thought this would be an easy one, and it was. The 'Sandwich Artist' was quite excited and enthusiastic about the whole no packaging concept. He asked me a few questions about our compact while he made our subs; it felt good to have someone in the food service industry think our project was cool.

I'm sure that most fast food places would be pretty willing to accommodate a no packaging request by their customers. Think of how much waste would be prevented, overhead costs cut to the business and the potential savings that customers could realize through a little extra effort on the part of the consumer.

Give it a try!

Adam