In a step forward for the environment of the planet, and my bins whenever I haven’t been bothered to cook for four nights in a row, Uber Eats Australia has announced a partnership with one of the nation’s top environmental organisations, Planet Ark, to increase the sustainability of the packaging your midnight munchies get delivered in.
The collaboration between Uber Eats and Planet Ark will see the food delivery service provide $13 million of funding over the next three years to the environmental organisation so that they can develop research plans into reality.
As with any effort to change the world, the first step is education. Which is why Planet Ark aims to give restaurants who use Uber Eats a system that teaches different approaches to packaging and finding more ways to be eco-friendly than how they currently bundle their food.
Planet Ark is thrilled to announce our partnership with @Uber_Australia. Together we will assist their restaurant partners to transition to more #sustainable packaging and educate customers on how to best dispose of #packaging at home 🌏🤝 #positivechange pic.twitter.com/93Nm8Q70IA
— Planet Ark (@PlanetArk) January 22, 2024
The model of information was developed by the University Of Technology Sydney and is called the “Sustainable Packaging Framework”.
Bec Nyst, Uber Eats ANZ’s General Manager shared that they are “thrilled” for the partnership and its potentially “incredible impact”.
“As we have increased our investment in this area and as we progress our partnership with Planet Ark, we’ll look to identify additional system changes to accelerate the uptake of more sustainable packaging options across Australia,” stated Nyst.
Uber Eats has already made a few attempts to decrease waste amounts, including making cutlery an opt-in choice rather than the default. Nyst says this has resulted in reducing the equivalent of “four jumbo jets worth of plastic forks” and other cutlery going to landfill.
As part of the sustainability education program Planet Ark will have its informational assets published to Uber Eats’ website so that it is available to the 50,000 restaurants across Australia who use the service.
Planet Ark’s CEO Rebecca Gilling pointed out that while this is a great first step, there’s plenty of work left to be done before we can celebrate anything.
“But while this is a positive outcome, there is still much to do, and there is a clear need to provide support to small businesses – including restaurants – on how to reduce packaging waste best,” Gilling advised.
“We’re delighted to be able to announce a multi-year effort with Uber Eats to help them assist their restaurant partners – and to lift the standard for the sector more broadly.”
Honestly this is kinda a big ‘ole slay for the gremlins like me who rely on delivery services for more meals than we’d like to admit publicly.
Being able to know that my little Thursday night dumplings are going to come in something that’s better for the planet means that the only guilt I have to feel for my purchase is the damage I’m doing to my diet, rather than Mother Nature. Big win.
