Nearly 1 trillion disposable food service products are used each year in the United States, resulting in 7.5 million tons of waste. By introducing the concept of returnable/reusable takeout to Lexington through the ZeroToGo pilot program, we hope to promote a culture of reuse over a culture of throwaway, single-use. We also want a future free from the pollution and other health hazards associated with plastic food packaging and microplastics.
Our goal is that other restaurants will also join in on this movement.
We hope this pilot will help our community enjoy take out, support local businesses, AND avoid waste.
ZeroToGo Reusable Takeout (Old)
ZeroToGo ™ is a pilot program for reusable takeout intended to significantly reduce the use of single-use plastic containers. ZeroToGo is a partnership between LexZeroWaste and Recirclable, who is providing the software to manage the tracking of reusable containers as they are received from and returned to participating restaurants.
The pilot program began in Spring 2023 with participating restaurant Royal India Bistro, and continued through September 1st. Please sign up for our newsletter as we prepare this Fall for the next phase of ZeroToGo with Royal India Bistro and additional restaurants to come!
If you have program-specific questions, please email us at ZeroToGo@lexzerowaste.org.
Nearly 1 trillion disposable food service products are used each year in the United States, resulting in 7.5 million tons of waste. By introducing the concept of returnable/reusable takeout to Lexington through the ZeroToGo pilot program, we hope to promote a culture of reuse over a culture of throwaway, single-use. We also want a future free from the pollution and other health hazards associated with plastic food packaging and microplastics.
Our goal is that other restaurants will also join in on this movement.
We hope this pilot will help our community enjoy take out, support local businesses, AND avoid waste.
Please sign up for the LexZeroWaste mailing list for notification and information about registration for future sessions.
After registering with LexZeroWaste and signing a User agreement:
Yes! You should return containers that are free of food residue. Please do not place any soiled containers or lids in the return bin. The containers and lids are dishwasher safe! The restaurant will wash again and sanitize before placing them back into service.
If your containers have not been checked back in within 7 days, the app will charge your credit card on file a late fee.
We certainly hope so! We are working on enrolling additional restaurants in the ZeroToGo program this Fall, 2023. We encourage you to talk to your favorite take-out spots about the pilot and encourage them to get involved!
The ZeroToGo pilot program is funded by a generous grant from the Community Endowment of Lexington, an endowed fund of the Foundation for MetroWest; sponsorship by Enterprise Bank; and donations from LexZeroWaste members.