Returnable takeout food containers would help the environment. Just don’t wash them.

May 06, 2023

ANN ARBOR, MICH. – Scientists at the University of Michigan learned widespread use of returnable takeout food containers could reduce plastic waste, greenhouse gas emissions, and even costs for restaurants – but only if customers follow instructions.

An analysis of a pilot program used in about a half-dozen restaurants in Ann Arbor found that switching to reusable containers for takeout orders can improve sustainability by reducing energy use, global warming potential, water consumption, waste, and costs. Such a switch would break even in climate and energy impacts after four to 13 uses of the returnable containers, according to the recently published study.

But the research also showed those environmental benefits could be eroded if customers do more than simply rinse containers at home with cold water or make a special return trip by vehicle to take the reusable containers back to the restaurant.

That means participants will need to follow instructions to reap those environmental benefits, one researcher said.

"You don't want to make a special trip because there are impacts associated with driving your car that actually will upset the benefits of the reusable container," said study author Greg Keoleian, director of U-M's Center for Sustainable Systems.

"And some people may think they need to wash the reusable container, put it in their dishwasher or wash it out with soap and water. They don't need to wash it because it's going to get washed by the restaurant. So again, if you do this extra wash it's going to take away from the overall benefit of the reusable systems."

Education to encourage sustainable customer practices will be critical to counteract those potential downfalls, Keoleian said.

The research team analyzed multiple container types, including polypropylene, bioplastic, and aluminum. The study confirmed reusable takeout containers outperformed all single-use options – even compostable go-to boxes – for reducing carbon emissions, energy and water use, as well as expenses for restaurants.

Those environmental benefits are the overarching goal, said Rodger Bowser, managing partner and chef at participating Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor. He's been a food industry professional for the better part of three decades and said the amount of waste he watched go to the landfill through the years began to wear on him.

"We have a lot of disposables. We have a lot of things that we put food in for mere minutes, if not seconds sometimes, and it kind of eats away at us," Bowser said.

He said the returnable container effort is meant to reduce that waste and is targeted at repeat customers, not out-of-town visitors to Ann Arbor who are unlikely to return anytime soon. And the idea seems to be catching on.

"I think we’re getting to a point where there's going to be guest demand for it. It's an idea that I think has legs, we just have to get a critical mass. I think we’re getting there," Bowser said.

The pilot reusable takeout container program was launched by nonprofit organization Live Zero Waste in Ann Arbor. The program is called Ann Arbor Reduce, Reuse, Return (A2R3) and was developed in partnership with the city's carbon neutrality plan.

Related: Zero-waste takeout containers successful despite low participation, Ann Arbor businesses say

The U-M research team suggested that a citywide effort to replace single-use takeout containers at a much larger number of restaurants would be advantageous and efficient. That's because customers could return containers to different locations, reducing the likelihood they would make a special trip by car.

It's also possible that container deposits would encourage returns, the researchers concluded.

In addition to Keoleian, co-authors of the study included research assistants Christian Hitt and Jacob Douglas.

U-M scientists are also studying a similar reusable container system in Galveston, Texas, where the community seeks to reduce plastic marine debris from single-use containers.

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