Eco-Friendly Tableware and Packaging: The Ideal for a Café

On a daily basis, we don’t really think of the waste we produce, particularly not the plastics, despite having the news of eco disasters constantly surrounding us. The coffee loving nation we are, using over a billion coffee cups annually, it’s good for all of us to think about this aspect seriously, especially those in the café business.

You might not consider it that big of a deal, but the annual number isn’t to be overlooked. Moreover, you would be glad your business isn’t at the expense of the environment, and even get to win over customers who are eco-aware and willing to spread the word about you.

It all starts with the simple change of switching takeaway plastics for eco bamboo plates, biodegradable PLA cups, PLA or wooden cutlery, and bamboo sugarcane mix napkins. Thinking of it long-term, it’s more than a worthy investment to make, given that it’s both sustainable and non-toxic.

What makes eco bamboo plates the ideal alternative is they are food safe, come in a variety of sizes, as well as shapes, help keep food fresher for longer, and at the same time are refrigerator and microwave safe. Besides, they are made from natural renewable sources.

When it comes to the cups, PLA (poly-lactic-acid) harvested from corn starch make the ideal option because they too are made from renewable source, and producing them results in much lesser greenhouse gas emissions than conventional plastics. On the plus side too, they look like regular plastic cups, the difference being they can be composted!

The same goes for wooden cutlery that can easily make it to the composting facility, and the fact they are wooden, made from plantation birch implies they are sustainable. The other option, PLA cornstarch cutlery, is colourful yet still non-toxic (even with the inks!), so if you’re up for more colour in your café this is the choice you should make.

Sugarcane bamboo mix napkins are tree-free and needless to say eco-friendly, and on top of this, they can be recycled. Of course, where would sustainability be without straws; as of late, there’s been a great deal of debate whether or not to ban straws, resulting in some countries banning them altogether, others still considering it.

Truth be told, as harmful as they are for the environment, there are always going to be people preferring them, which means instead of giving them up you could find their substitutes. There are plenty of straws you can choose that aren’t plastic: there’s bamboo, stainless steel, and glass with the latter being easy to clean even in the dishwasher.

As you can see, you don’t have much of an excuse not to minimise the carbon footprint knowing there’s such a wide range of eco-friendly tableware and packaging.