Single-use takeout containers and food wrappers account for up to one-third of the debris found on Hawaiʻi’s shorelines!!

Offering a reusable takeout container system helps to address this issue (and many others) while also cultivating circular and zero waste economies.

There are numerous social, economic, and environmental benefits of supporting a reusable container program like Full Cycle Takeout. Product stewardship and community building are at the heart of Full Cycle Takeout’s mission.

We’ve worked closely with community partners to design a waste-free takeout model that fits our local needs. We are excited to offer a program that will reduce costs for local restaurants by creating less rubbish to dispose of (yep, that costs $) and minimizing the amount of single-use items our restaurants have to purchase.

Building reusable systems in food service creates “upstream” and “downstream” benefits for the environment and our communities. What does that mean?

When we think of waste, we tend to focus on the waste that happens at the time of disposal, but “upstream” of that immediate waste is an extraction and production process that creates so much more. For every 1 pound of waste at disposal, there are 70 pounds of additional waste being generated “upstream.” *

Replacing disposables with reusables in food service means that the vast majority of that “upstream” waste was never created. This is called “proactive waste management” and means we are living in the first two Rs (reduce and reuse)!

“Downstream” of disposal is what happens to waste after we toss it. In a reusable container program, removing disposables from takeout prevents any additional waste and its negative impacts from ever existing. This means no single-use containers piling up for years in landfills, or being incinerated creating toxic emissions, residue and ash. This is an important part of environmental justice, because low income communities and communities of color too often get stuck with hosting the waste of others, which has a severe impact on their wellbeing. That’s just not okay, so let’s do our best to reduce what we dispose of.

When our rubbish leaks into the ocean, that is also a downstream impact of our waste stream. Creating less cheap, disposable stuff means there will be much less opportunity for our rubbish to find its way into the environment.

*Citation source: Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR) report, Wasting and Recycling in the United States 2000, page 31

Heck yes they do! According to the Clean Water Action Network, “reusable food service containers have lower overall greenhouse emissions or energy usage than comparable single-use products.” *

Across the “upstream” and “downstream” waypoints of our waste stream, enormous quantities of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are generated during extraction, processing, transportation, and disposal. These emissions directly contribute to the climate crisis we are facing, with nearly 40% of GHG emissions coming from the way we make, take, ship and dispose of goods! **

By reusing containers hundreds of times we can avoid the GHG emissions generated from constantly manufacturing, shipping, and tossing single-use items.

*Citation: Clean Water Action Network report: Greenhouse Gas Impacts of Disposable vs Reusable Foodservice Products, January 2017

**Citation : EPA.gov, Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data page

Each container can be reused 300+ times. When the containers can no longer be used they will be returned to the manufacturer (OZZI) in Oregon to be incorporated back into more containers and/or durable goods.