Take away food but without piles of rubbish: Gröbenzeller rely on reusable tableware

Created: 01/13/2022, 1:13 PM

Presented the reusable tableware: (from left) Marina Kinzel, Aaron Sperl, Klaus Brückner, Eva Stephan, Van Nguyen, Larissa Holmer and Doris Hartl.

© Peter Weber

In the corona pandemic, many people have their food delivered to their home.

Plastic waste is a big problem.

But that doesn't have to be the case: A Groebenzeller restaurant is now using reusable tableware.

Gröbenzell

- The Vietnamese restaurant Van, which opened just a few months ago on Bahnhofstrasse, has been offering to-go food in reusable dishes since the middle of the week.

This is made possible by Aaron Sperl from Groebenzell together with two partners from a Munich company.

The community's environmental officer, Larissa Holmer, was able to win over the landlady Van Nguyen for the system. Since May of last year, Holmer, supported by Doris Hartl from Gröbenzell, has been out and about in restaurants and promoted the idea. “But that was incredibly tough,” complains Holmer, because “the restaurateurs showed little interest”. With Nguyen, however, she was successful.

“I want to do something for the environment,” emphasizes the landlady. She has also offered to-go food so far, in paper packaging but with a plastic lid. Holmer and Nguyen had actually planned to take over the reusable system from a Cologne company. The contract had not yet been signed, but the packaging was already on the Vietnamese woman's counter when one of her regular customers, namely Aaron Sperl, who lives only a few meters from the Vietnamese restaurant, entered the restaurant and discovered the Cologne containers. It quickly became clear that the contract with the Cologne company would not be signed and would instead work with Relevo.

"Because the Munich company offers advantages," emphasizes Holmer.

The dishes are produced in Germany.

Although the material is made of plastic, it is free of harmful substances.

In addition, the bowls can be reused up to 1000 times.

The lids are tight.

"The soup does not run out when it is transported home," emphasizes Sperl.

The food stays warm during transport, but can also be microwaved without a lid.

Most importantly, it saves large amounts of waste.

In Germany alone, 155 tonnes of packaging waste is generated every year through to-go food.

The reusable tableware does not make any financial difference to the customers, only the restaurateur has to pay Relovo an amount between five and 20 cents, depending on the size of the cup or bowl.

The return must be made within 14 days.

However, there is an option to extend it by a few days.

Relovo has been offering this system for around a year and a half, and with great success.

According to Sperl, around 750 restaurateurs in 80 cities use the reusable tableware, 260 in Munich alone.

In the district of Fürstenfeldbruck so far only one in the district town.

And this, although Relovo not only saves rubbish, but also money for restaurateurs.

Because packaging, for example the one that Nguyen has used so far, cost up to 40 cents.

The chairwoman of the Groebenzell interest group, Marina Kinzel, is also enthusiastic about the system.

As a mother of small children, she hated going to restaurants to eat.

Up until now, however, she has been reluctant to bring the food home for environmental reasons.

But thanks to Relovo, this is now possible for her.

Their enthusiasm is so great that IVG will pay for the first 500 filled containers.

Holmer now hopes that other restaurants in Gröbenzell will join the reusable system.

Because, as Sperl reports, in 2023 it will be mandatory for restaurateurs to also offer reusable tableware for to-go.

You can read more news from Groebenzell with us.