Fryer goes the extra green mile to ditch plastics
An Ayr fish and chip shop are taking a leaf from the past by ditching plastic to serve their foodie delights in.
They may not be using newspaper to wrap fish suppers in anymore but Marco’s Fish & Chips have swapped out polystyrene supper boxes for a more environmentally friendly alternative. Their popular dishes are now served in biodegradable boxes and bags instead of polystyrene , ahead of June’s ban on most single-use plastics .
Marco Luni, 60, who runs Marco’s chippy alongside business partner Robin Scott, said:“The stuff we were using previously took hundreds of years to break down and degrade, but these ones they don’t. Plus it looks much better and the food keeps better in it too.
Before launching his own business on Fort Street in 2012, Marco worked at Ayr’s Wellington chip shop and used to wrap suppers in unused copies of the Ayrshire Posst.
He said:“They used to dump papers at the shop and we’d use them as wrapping. But then it wasn’t hygienic because of the ink.”
Marco’s -- who can go through three tonnes of potatoes per week in the height of the summer -expanded their business last year by opening up Marco’s Extras in the unit next door, offering gluten free delights including tempura wraps, loaded fries and fish suppers.
Marco said:“We had so many customers coming in and asking us to do it. But the problem being you just can’t separate it in one shop .
“I know people say they’ve got separate pans but with things splashing over, it just doesn’t work.
“So that’s why I refused to do it and then we decided to try it next door.”