SRA launches guide for restaurants to go plastic-free

The Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) has released a guide for hospitality businesses to find viable alternatives to disposable and single-use plastics.

The SRA’s guide focuses on the six most widely used plastic items including straws, bottles, coffee cups, takeaway packaging, cutlery and cling film. It provides the information required for operators to find suitable alternatives with material suggestions and practical information about recycling.

The sector-specific guide, designed to help operators in making right decisions about the plastic their businesses use, also provides a five-step plan for restaurants to reduce their reliance on plastic.

The SRA’s guide recommends completing a thorough assessment of plastics used and identifying what is essential to the restaurant, followed by setting reduction targets, asking suppliers for packaging specs and getting the restaurant’s waste contractor to detail the specific recycle products.

Andrew Stephen, CEO of SRA, said: “There is a huge tide of willingness to tackle the pressing issue of single-use plastic. Many foodservice businesses have already taken the first step – acknowledging they have a plastic problem. A number have already acted decisively to ditch some items like straws.

“There are few in the industry, though, who feel fully confident about the available alternatives for their full range of disposables. We’ve created a toolkit to help the industry start to come to terms with its addiction to single-use plastic.

“It’s designed so as businesses better understand the realities of what they are using, what it’s made of and how they can actually dispose of it. Armed with this, we hope businesses will be better equipped to make informed decisions, making switches which are genuinely better for the environment, customers and business too.”