Before you head out the door from home or the office, remember wallet, keys, cup – and container!

Reusable food containers are the hot new accessory for when you’re ducking out to get a takeaway lunch or snack, with NPDC and Sustainable Taranaki promoting them through the Bring it! campaign.

Takasago Sushi on Devon Street East is one of the businesses involved, and co-owner Graham Mann is happy to get behind the effort to cut down on the volume of waste from takeaway meals.

“If you think about the amount of takeaway packaging that goes into bins every day, it’s an enormous amount – so reducing that is better for everyone,” he says.

NPDC Manager Resource Recovery Kimberley Hope says: “We’re getting used to carrying reusable cups with us for takeaway coffees and soup to reduce waste; it’s easy to add a clean, reusable takeaway container as well.

“We’ve partnered with food businesses who are keen to do their bit in reducing waste; all we have to do as customers is bring along our own reusable container. Just make sure that your container is clean and dry, and has a good seal so it doesn’t leak,” says Kimberley.

A list of nearly 40 food outlets that encourage you to bring your reusable container for takeaways, including those who also offer a discount, is online at npdc.govt.nz/BringIt. Also, these businesses will be displaying an orange Bring It! poster in store.

NPDC’s Zero Waste initiative has the ambitious goal of no waste from New Plymouth District residents and businesses going to landfill by 2040.

FAST FACTS

• NPDC’s Zero Waste strategy focuses on five key areas: behaviour change, partnerships, leadership, innovation and easy to use facilities.
• In 2021/22, New Plymouth District sent 27,038 tonnes of waste to Bonny Glen landfill – only 12,678 tonnes, or less than half, of which came from the residential kerbside collection.

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