Zero waste fast food?

My son and I were eager to try the burgers at the newly opened neighborhood snack bar that’s biking distance from our house. Knowing they used disposable plates and plastic cups, we brought our own containers to avoid waste. The first time ordering at a new place with containers is a gamble, so we waited for a time when they weren’t busy to increase our odds. When placing our order, I asked to have the food put in our containers. To our surprise, the cashier actually THANKED us for bringing our own containers! 😃 She said the waste generated by the restaurant bothered her, and she wished everyone brought their own containers. 💚 At that point, I knew we’d found an ally so I whipped out a mason jar mug with a silicone straw and asked if she could put a slushie in it for my son. “No problem. This is awesome!” she exclaimed. 😁 We left our containers with her, then when our food was ready, she brought it all to our picnic table outside ☀️

While this isn’t exactly the healthiest meal 😆, we were happy to enjoy it waste free. In addition to bringing our own containers …

– I ordered a veggie burger instead of a hamburger for a more eco-friendly meal
– I opted for a can of soda instead of the plastic bottle drinks since aluminum is easily and infinitely recyclable
– I squeezed ketchup from a bottle onto my container lid instead of picking up individually wrapped ketchup packets
– We used our own cloth napkins instead of taking paper ones

When we were done eating, I put the containers inside each other along with the cloth napkins. Then I screwed the lid onto our mason jar mug for easy transport home. The two items easily fit into my backpack with no mess 🙂

As we were leaving, we thanked the employee and assured her we’d definitely be coming back! 😊🙌🌎