Along with the launch of its ‘Subhojanam’ project to ensure clean food for the people, the city Corporation is planning to nudge the restaurants and food delivery operators to shift to the usage of reusable steel containers for food delivery.
Though the civic body had tried to implement something similar last year, it had failed to find favour with the delivery companies.
According to a Corporation official, the plan, which is still in its early stages, can be implemented only with the complete co-operation of all the restaurant associations.
Agency
“Either the restaurant associations can take this up or the Corporation can sign up an agency to run this. Steel containers can be distributed to all restaurants for the purpose of parcelling food. A refundable deposit amount can be charged from the user when they order food. This deposit can be reclaimed when they return the plate.
The restaurant associations or the agency appointed by the Corporation will have the responsibility of collecting, cleaning and distributing the plates. They will also have to have a software for the refund mechanism,” said the official.
One-time deposit
According to the official, those who frequently use the services of food delivery operators can make use of the services with a one-time deposit for the plates.
A student from the National Institute of Design, who was interning at the city Corporation, had designed models of containers which can be used for this purpose.
Campaign
The Corporation, which had banned the use of plastic carry bags and has been running a campaign to cut the use of plastic, was saddled with the mounting plastic waste problem yet again with the sudden boom in food delivery applications. Much of the packing of food materials by these operators is using plastic.
The city has witnessed a jump in plastic waste over the past two years.
Last year, the Corporation had made an attempt to convince the food delivery operators to shift to reusable containers, but not much happened after the formal discussions.