During the school year, we have a pretty set routine when it comes to dining in and out, most of which is dictated by our oldest's schedule given she her after school activities. In most cases, we have dedicated Tuesdays as "Chipotle night" and Thursdays as "Pizza night." So, how do we get around the waste? Here's are our solutions:
Chipotle: I want to start off by touting this food chain. As you can see from visiting the site (http://www.chipotle.com), they are honed in on sustainability. They strive to serve hormone free meets and dairy and local (in many cases organic) ingredients, yet they remain affordable. This is my favorite "fast food" place for all of those reasons. But getting to the good stuff, here's how I cut through the waste. If you've ever visited Chipotle, you know that it is an order-at-the-counter place whereby they assemble as you go (paying at the end). My solution is instead of telling them I want it to go (in which case, they would put my items in a disposable bowl with aluminum lid or aluminum foil), I tell them that I am dining in (in which they typically serve in reusable plastic red baskets like those pictured below with a think piece of tissue paper liner). I then move each order (by grabbing each corner of the tissue) into my reusable glass bowls and return the plastic baskets. So, technically, I do have one 12" x 12" piece of compostable tissue paper as waste for each order. I do not ask for anything on the side so as to avoid plastic disposable condiment containers.
Pizza: We order from a place that is walking distance from our house. I usually make a salad for us and have pre-prepare veggies for the kids to eat as sides to go along with our pizza. The only disposed of items from this meal is the pizza box, which we recycle (if clean) or compost (if dirty). Often times I recycle the top as it stays clean and compost the bottom. The place we use puts a piece of tissue paper to line the bottom of the box and it often works to keep the box clean allowing us to recycle the entire thing. If we want cheese or pepper flakes, we simply bring in our own container instead of using the plastic disposable condiment containers.
Anecdote: This mindset for take out actually worked to provide a solution to one of my other zero waste challenges. I was having the hardest time trying to figure out how to get grated Parmesan without packaging. Unlike other cheeses like cheddar, provolone and Swiss, which are readily available at deli counters to be sliced or cut from bulk and put in a container that you bring in, Parmesan is not an option unless you go to a gourmet cheese store and pay $16-$20/pound. [Can you hear me choking?]. I love my kids, but I am not spending that kind of money on a pasta topping. So, I was at the pizza place one day and remembered to bring by container for extra cheese when the light bulb went on! The solution to my Parmesan dilemma had been staring me in the face the whole time! I don't know about you, but pizza places always give us more Parmesan and pepper flakes than we need. So, now that one service if cheese from my pizza place in my reusable container is plenty for all of our grated cheese needs throughout the week. Problem solved! Moreover, I am now spending $0 for my grated Parmesan instead of $16-$20/pound. Score!
TAKE OUT TIPS:
- REFUSE unneeded condiments and utensils. And check your boxes before you leave the restaurant to make sure there aren't any hidden items that you don't want/need.
- BYOB (bag) or container for your items, including condiments.
- Use takeout or dining in as a resource for condiments that you can't otherwise get "waste free" at a store.
- Bring your own containers to use as doggie bags. Otherwise, any leftover foods from dining in will get thrown out.
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