By: Lauren Landry

Here are easy and efficient ways for food businesses to go green.

Recyclable PLA-lined paper cold cup from Karat Earth – a safer alternative to a plastic cup

Earth Day is celebrated all around the world every 22nd of April as it marks the modern environmental movement’s birth anniversary in 1970. It is celebrated yearly to show our support for the campaign and to continuously raise awareness on environmental issues such as the increasing problem with plastic and climate change. Earth Day also encourages businesses to become sustainable and be more environmentally conscious regardless of industry.

As a food business, there are so many ways to make a difference when it comes to caring for the environment. If you’re a boba tea business owner looking for ways to support the cause and spread awareness, here are several strategies to consider:

• #1 Switch to biodegradable boba supplies.
• #2 Encourage customers to bring their own reusable supplies.
• #3 Provide discounts on low-impact menu items.
• #4 Invest in a composter.
• #5 Set up recycling bins.

#1 Switch to biodegradable boba supplies.

If you are using plastic food supplies, this is the perfect time to make the switch. As mentioned earlier, the problem with plastic is continuously increasing as this material takes hundreds of years to decompose, and they fill the oceans and landfills. Thankfully, there are many earth-friendly alternatives to boba supplies that you can use for your shop, including paper straws, paper cups, wooden stirrers, paper plates, paper trays, and wooden utensils.

The same goes for wholesale to-go containers and food packaging. Instead of using plastic, the earth-friendly alternatives for takeout containers are those made from bagasse or sugar pulp and paper bags as safer plastic bag alternatives. If some supplies cannot be replaced by paper material alternatives, consider going for bio-based or bioplastic materials like PLA. Bioplastic is moldable material made up of chemical compounds derived from or synthesized by microbes like bacteria or by genetically-modified plants. You can get cold cups, cup lids, and food containers made of eco-friendly PLA.

#2 Encouraging customers to bring their own reusable supplies. 

One effective way to spread environmental awareness to your customers is by encouraging them to bring reusable supplies like cups, cup jackets, metal straws, and food containers. And this can be effective by giving a certain discount in exchange for such reusables.

For instance, you can slash 10 percent off the price of select boba tea drinks if they bring their own cups. This way, you can save on supplies while customers enjoy their favorite beverage at a lower cost. It's definitely a win-win strategy.

#3 Provide discounts on low-impact menu items.

Just like plastic and other non-biodegradable materials, food also has a great impact on the environment. To be more specific, they can negatively affect the environment through deforestation, harmful farming practices, and other factors that contribute to a bigger carbon footprint.

With that being said, you can encourage customers to order food items with low environmental impact by offering them at lower prices. These foods include organic tofu, moringa, wakame seaweed, and other locally grown vegetables and fruits. Switch to using ingredients with a minimal environmental footprint and give discounts to customers who order these low-impact meals and drinks to encourage them to make smarter choices.

#4 Invest in a composter.

Food businesses produce lots of waste, which includes leftover food, unused food ingredients, and paper products. These may be the most significant contributing factor to your boba tea shop’s environmental footprint. So to minimize your waste, consider investing in a composter.

A composter or compost bin can quickly turn food scraps and unused produce into natural fertilizer. And if you pay for waste removal for your business, you’ll be able to save on fees with a composter. You can also sell the natural fertilizer to your customers and donate the funds to a local environmental organization in your area.

#5 Set up recycling bins.

Finally, make sure you provide recycling bins for your staff and customers. There are many benefits to recycling, and these include conservation of natural resources, reduction of landfill waste, saving power, and helping prevent pollution as a whole. Make sure to train your staff to use the recycling bins. As for the customers, make sure the bins are visible for everyone to see, so they can be encouraged to be more conscious about the environment. Putting up signs and useful information about climate change and other environmental issues can also help.

On the same note, you can start a recycling campaign for the whole month of April by giving discounts or freebies to customers who can bring a recyclable product into your business. If you’ve already purchased a composter, you can give them packs of natural fertilizer in exchange for a recyclable product. This is an effective strategy to inform more people about the importance of recycling and the benefits we can all enjoy when we care more about the earth.

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