Image by young ho seo from Pixabay
There is a new Canadian law ending the use of single use plastics as of 2024. This has a direct impact on restaurants who offer take out food. Thanks to the latest pandemic and the emergence of food delivery yapps this law applies to any and all restaurants. From cutlery to packaging to the bag you leave the restaurant with, things are going to change.
Some people are getting out in front of the legislation. Paul Bognar President and CEO of Service Inspired Restaurants took the initiative to offer bamboo cutlery instead of plastic already in 2023. Service Inspired Restaurants has several thriving restaurant chains including: Scaddabush, Reds and Jack Astor’s.
KFC Canada was experimenting with bamboo (+ corn and sugarcane) buckets in 2019 in select markets. It seems it was a hit with customers. They love the classic red and white bucket, the juicy chicken and the fact that the utensils and packaging are biodegradable in a matter of months.
Is this a perfect storm of time, place and people? The time is that the market is demanding that companies take responsibility for the full life cycle of their packaging + the place – Canada, with its new legislation drawing a line in the sand in 2024 + the right people – including corporate leaders like Mr Bognar and KFC Global Chief Development Officer Nivera Wallani.
Is this a cultural revolution or could it be a planetary evolution that is the impetus for these decisions and follow through on things like sustainable packaging. Does it matter which? Yes. It does. Leaders need to be recognized and the planet needs to be respected. Is it the planet or the person that is the source of the change? It is the planet without a doubt. But we too, you and me, have a role. Beyond bamboo.
Beyond bamboo refers to the point that it is not bamboo that is the answer – we are the answer. Our actions in our daily life. Small decisions in the hardware store or even before we get there. How we explain our decision making to our children. Even the way we argue with your spouse impacts the next generation.
So Google your local bamboo business and enjoy the conversation about their products and the new doors they open.