Green 2 Go

The Project

The collaborative Green 2 Go Project aims to assist Vancouver in its goal of reducing landfill-bound solid waste by working with city restaurants and the public in dialogue and support in reducing take-out container waste. The project, which completed its pilot phase in January 2014, assists and leverages capacity of existing initiatives in Vancouver, linking efforts through a more centralized approach to encourage and assist businesses and consumers in providing or transitioning to fully reusable, compostable or recyclable alternatives. It establishes solutions based on environment standards, restaurant specific needs and economic considerations. With support from partners, facilitators and volunteers Green 2 Go engages with businesses and the public at large to convey problems posed by conventional take-out containers and provide businesses with adoption alternatives.

The Problem

Takeout food containers add 25,000 tonnes to landfills annually, making up about 1.6 per cent of the weight of residential waste and 3.6 per cent of industrial, commercial and institutional waste (Metro Vancouver).

Take-out containers are becoming increasingly popular as our lives become increasingly busy. This waste is needlessly adding to our ever-increasing landfills. Some hazardous take-out containers pose another threat by never making it to landfills. Improperly discarded materials can be left on roads and eventually make their way into our waterways, which lead inevitably to the ocean. Plastic pollution is becoming an issue in remote areas previously thought to be unaffected such as our coastal marine waters where a recent study found 90% of the material identified was plastic with half of that being Styrofoam.

This project seeks to reduce these environmental effects by educating and assisting businesses in transitioning to better take-out container solutions and engaging the public in making the best choice at local restaurants.