Food delivery service gets a packaging bagging
Food delivery company My Food Bag has been criticised for using too much plastic packaging.
Conscious Consumers chief executive Ben Gleisner said he would switch his subscription from weekly to fortnightly because of the number of plastic containers the food came in.
But My Food Bag said it was already making changes in response to growing consumer awareness of packaging and sustainability.
Gleisner wrote on My Food Bag’s Facebook page on Sunday: ‘‘We’ve decided to move to fortnightly rather than weekly with you. Great service but too many containers!!’’
He did not want to comment on the post as he was working with
"They do what they can to put things in paper, but compared to a normal shop there's a lot of little pottles and plastic containers." My Food Bag customer Dana Carter
My Food Bag to change its packaging practices.
Dana Carter, from Wellington, used My Food Bag for six months and had thought about starting the service again, but was concerned about the excessive plastic packaging.
‘‘We were a bit uncomfortable about the amount of packaging,’’ she said.
‘‘I do know they do what they can to put things in paper, but compared to a normal shop there’s a lot of little pottles and plastic containers.
‘‘You can reuse it and recycle it, but my first port of call would be to not have the plastic to start with.’’
Some customers were dismayed to find out the chilltainers, which were collected by couriers the following delivery, were not reused.
The chilltainers were 95 to 97 per cent recyclable in kerbside recycling and were made from 97 per cent sustainable paper, according to My Food Bag.
Wellington’s recycling plant does not recycle chilltainers, but My Food Bag co-chief executive Cecilia Robinson said they could be collected by My Food Bag and taken to a depot where they would be picked up by a third party recycler.
The ice packs used were not recyclable but Robinson said My Food Bag was testing fresh water and salt water alternatives in recyclable or biodegradable packaging.
‘‘These will be introduced across all of our products in approximately four months,’’ she said.
My Food Bag’s new meal kits, Fresh Start, already came in fully recyclable kerbside boxes and Woolcool packaging that is made of at least 25 per cent New Zealand wool that was recyclable and compostable.
Robinson said the packaging would be rolled out across all My Food Brands in October.