There are a lot of problems associated with fast food: the quality of the food, sourcing, the carbon footprint of this food and transportation among other things. Today, I am going to focus on the packaging waste caused by fast food and takeout.
On one hand, great leaps forward have been made to reduce the waste associated with fast food. For example, the polystyrene burger box has been replaced with recycled cardboard.
However, on the other hand, litter characterization studies done across the United States recognize fast food as the primary identifiable source of urban litter (I'm sure we can all agree with this regardless of where we live!) This litter becomes a permanent fixture of our environment as it travels through storm drains and by the wind across the landscape. In fact, plastics from urban runoff is the largest source of marine debris (in some parts of the ocean this debris is so concentrated that there is 6 times more plastic than plankton!) Less than 35% of fast food waste is diverted from landfills, so these fast-food joints are not only stressing our environment, but our waste disposal system as well!
Another cause for concern is the effects that this packaging may be having on the health of humans who consume the food that they house. Apparently Fluorinated telomers, a teflon-type material that keeps grease from seeping through cardboard (like on pizza or french fry boxes), is relatively innocuous in its everyday uses. However, upon ingestion the telomers can break down into perfluorooctanoic acid. Although the human health effects of this acid are not confirmed, studies on laboratory animals show links to cancer, liver toxicity and potential developmental and reproductive problems.
So, while fast-food companies can try to implement better recycling programs to reduce the waste associated with their packaging, it seems best to just avoid fast food and takeout all together!
Here are a couple of alternatives to fast food:
- Go to a restaurant that serves its food quickly on reusable dishes (like Tim Hortons)
- Treat yourself to a nice restaurant or check out a cute little cafe
- Bring food from home packed in reusable containers
... I'm sure there are many other ideas too! Feel free to post a comment!
Sources:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CYP/is_16_111/ai_112983133/
http://www.fastfoodnation.co.uk/fast-food-environment.html
http://www.cawrecycles.org/issues/fast_food
http://www.cawrecycles.org/files/ciwmb_restaurant_composition.pdf
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