Cravings Late Night Food owner Jamie Charles holds a milkshake in a paper cup and a straw. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

environmental sustainability

Restaurateur ditches Styrofoam and plastic for ‘Earth-friendly’ products

Mar 6, 2019 | 12:02 PM

With consumers becoming increasingly aware of the environmental impact of the products they buy, a restaurant in northern Saskatchewan has ditched Styrofoam, plastic and other materials that might never decompose in a landfill.

“When we go for a ride and there’s garbage somewhere, and if I see the black-checkered liner, I know it’s from my restaurant and it bothers me,” said Jamie Charles, who owns Cravings Late Night Food in Air Ronge with his wife Charmaine. “If I see styrofoam out there, garbage like that, that’s one of the main reasons I wanted to make these choices. It’s all for the community really.”

It’s been close to three weeks since Charles decided to do away with Styrofoam and plastic takeout containers at the restaurant in favour of environmentally-friendly products. For example, all takeout containers are now composed of cardboard, which can easily be recycled or deteriorate if thrown away. He’s also reduced the amount of plastic given to the public by introducing paper straws, as well as cutlery made from cornstarch. Cutlery used to be handed out in packages wrapped in plastic, but staff now wrap a napkin, fork, knife, salt and paper together secured with a paper band instead.

Considering about 800 takeout containers are used at Cravings per week, Charles said the decision he made will have a big impact to the communities he serves. He noted each container costs about three times more than the old ones, but when he placed one hamburger in a Styrofoam container and another in a cardboard one as a test, the food in the cardboard container had a much better quality after sitting for 15 minutes.

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The paper takeout containers now being used instead of styrofoam. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

“The Styrofoam was already moist and soggy, but the paper container was still fresh and the food had its integrity,” Charles said. “It’s not hard to make that adjustment when you have a happier customer and the product, overall, is in better shape when it gets to the customer.”

Another reason Charles decided to move forward with the changes is because he noticed more and more customers were asking for alternative takeout containers. He stated residents in Air Ronge, La Ronge and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band are becoming more aware about the impact of Styrofoam and plastic. Back in January, the recycling plant in La Ronge, for instance, stopped accepting plastic products including single-use shopping bags.

Charles also mentioned the new containers he purchased are available through food suppliers most private restaurants deal with already. As more businesses begin using such products, he believes the costs will eventually come down for everyone. While there has been no increase for menu items at Cravings yet, Charles stated there could soon but it would be due to multiple factors such as the carbon tax, increased utility bills and the rising cost of food.

“The matter was getting the price right, so if more and more restaurants are coming onboard with Earth-friendly products, I figured why not jump onboard and be the first ones to try and push it as much as we can,” he said. “Hopefully other restaurants come onboard.”

International franchises are also starting to look for better ways to package food, as is the case with A&W which eliminated plastic straws at all locations for paper ones at the end of January. The company estimates the switch will save 82 million plastic straws from going to landfills per year.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno