Restaurant franchise Subway has started using new catering trays made from 95% post-consumer recycled PET, as a part of its proposal to make its restaurants and operations environmentally responsible.
US-based food service/food packaging provider Pactiv created the catering trays and lids which are claimed to be made from about 19, 20oz recycled plastic soda or water bottles and can be recycled.
Pactiv works with a facility that cleans and recycles PET soda and water bottles, creating the materials used in the new trays.
According to Subway, the move is expected to keep about 1.8 million pounds of plastic materials annually from going into the waste stream directly. The new trays are used in almost 29,000 of its restaurants in the US and Canada.
Subway packaging technologist Michael Fox said the new catering trays have been created along with a better display of sandwiches and can be easily stored and transported.
"The lids for the new platters were designed based on consumer and franchisee feedback; they are designed to snap on very easily and securely - and to be easily removed as well. We even incorporated a space for sauces and napkins so that everything comes in one package," Fox said.
The trays feature handles on the sides of the platters and have a structure that allows them to be stacked.
As estimated by Subway, the salad bowls and lids, made from two-and-a-half recycled plastic soda and water bottles, are keeping about 2.62 million pounds of plastic from the waste stream per year.
