In Germany you can usually bring your own containers for takeout. Many restaurants have also switched to using paper-based takeout containers.
this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2024
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I'm always wondering if these brown "paper" / "cardboard" packaging materials are actually plastic-free (I'm also almost certain they're since "compostable" packaging is still allowed to contain absurd (20%?) amounts in some jurisdictions). The worst thing is that most come without anything to identify them by so even if some are we'll never know!
As far as I’m aware they are not - they have a lining inside that contains plastic. At least that’s what I remember of paper coffee cups for example. But yes - where I live they are still supposed to be sorted as paper products.
Plastic straws are completely gone from all establishments where I live. The last one to do was Tim Horton's, which happened in the last couple years.
ELI5, if plastic and paper are both recyclable and both not ideal for the environment, why is one better than the other?
It’s like bread dough and bread. Reshaping bread dough is easy. The same process doesn’t work for bread, but you can grind it into crumbs and make other foods with it. You probably won’t be able to make the same kind of bread, but you can use it for thickening sauces or deep frying things and it is a form of recycling. Trying to then recycle the next food is much harder.
There are environmental issues associated with the sourcing of either: fossil oil is toxic, but e.g. monoculture tree plantations come with environmental issues as well (fire-prone, insect issues, not a good habitat for other species, and of course felling is problematic too).
Paper is biodegradable quite easily, plastics usually aren't. Even plastics sold as biodegradable usually need certain conditions to break down. Paper can properly be recycled, tiny bits of plastics can usually only be burned.
Plastics can be made lighter than paper, i.e. you need less material. Some manufacturers put PFOA coatings on paper used for fast food, despite PFOA never breaking down under normal circumstances.
The best thing fast food companies could do is to stop creating drinks and drinks containers that work best with a straw and just save straws entirely.