Going, Going, Gone

Plastic Straws   (Photo by Horia Varlan) 

Ordering food “to go” has made a huge comeback this side of the pandemic.

But food-to-go has to go into something, and that something is in very short supply.  Straws, cups and boxes that are made with petrochemicals are quite scarce due to the ice storm that shut down Texas plants last February.

And that’s not all.  Supplies of paper goods and food itself have been sharply reduced because of increased shipping costs and decreased labor pools.  All this may not normalize until “the second half of 2022.”  

Perhaps such shortages will lead to increased creativity when it comes to environmentally–sound packaging.  Panera Bread has already switched to a compostable wrap that “uses 60% less material.”

Resources

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/restaurants-face-new-challenge-a-shortage-of-take-out-containers-and-coffee-cups/ar-AAQol2O#:~:text=Consumers%20are%20returning%20to%20restaurants%20in%20droves%2C%20but,created%20bottlenecks%20and%20other%20new%20challenges%20for%20companies. 

Copyright November 6, 2021 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved