Plastic ban: Now, clay pots, steel boxes to deliver food

The next time you order food with curry, daal or any other gravy dishes from your favourite eatery, make sure you are ready at the doorstep with a serving bowl as the delivery boy will pour out the liquids from his steel container into it.

While several restaurants in the twin-city have shifted to paper, cardboard, silver foils, aluminium boxes and cane-based packaging to deliver food, some have discontinued parcel services until viable alternatives are found.

However, a few restaurants have using steel tiffin boxes and clay pots as a stop-gap arrangement, to counter major losses on home-delivery.

“We have purchased steel tiffin boxes of various sizes and are telling customers to keep some empty vessels handy, so that when our delivery-person arrives with the food packed in the boxes, they can empty them and return it to us. These boxes will be hygienic as we wash them ourselves in the restaurant,” says Mohan Shetty of Hotel Ratnagari in Mira Road.

In case of a takeaway order, some eateries are even contemplating to keep monetary deposits which would be refunded when the steel container is returned.

As curry items remain a sour point in takeaway orders, biryani delivered in eco-friendly clay pots are in huge demand.

“Apart from using food grade packing material, we pack biryani and other semi-liquid dishes in clay pots, which are tightly sealed with dough for takeaway,” said Arvind Shetty of Hotel Swagat in Bhayandar.

While eateries have registered a significant dent in their day-to-day business, food delivery applications are the worst hit due to the lack of alternate packaging material.