Cutlery That Comes with Takeaway food? Let’s Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

By Ruchi Sharma

We love the delicious restaurant food, but is your kitchen overflowing with the cutlery that comes along with it? Those nitty gritties like plastic spoons, forks, plates etc., which your favorite food joints provide with that lip-smacking food, is rarely used. We all prefer eating in our own proper home utensils. Even the containers themselves almost always find their place in the bin once you are done with your food, and literally almost majority of the time it is non-biodegradable. Why are we talking all about it? Because we want you to start working on DIY zero waste along with us! Yes, let’s contribute our bit in reducing the burden of plastic waste on our planet! Plastic cutlery is like a very significant contributor towards ocean waste too as plastic cannot decompose! You might have come across this truckload of times maybe in school exams or just as a query from a kid at your home that ‘how is world environment day celebrated?’. Well, let’s have our own new answer! We will celebrate by starting one of our own DIY sustainable projects i.e. reusing disposable cutlery!!!

First Step- REDUCE

Now you must have seen this tiny option of ‘Don’t send cutlery’ which is always ticked on prominent food ordering apps or the option to send in cutlery specifically on apps like Zomato. Well that’s their way of reducing the amount of trash being generated. You can also put in this as one of the instructions to the restaurants you order from if you don’t require disposable cutlery and voila! You have taken first step i.e. REDUCE! Let’s reduce the plastic waste if we don’t require something at all.

Second Step- REUSE

This one we are already doing often at our homes! Have you washed the containers in which your food came and reused it for maybe giving something to a friend or storing something? That’s actually REUSE! If you have been using the plastic spoons in your kid’s lunch boxes, if they often more than not tend to lose them, that’s also reuse. 

Final step- RECYCLE

And now comes the most important step- RECYCLE. Since plastic is non-biodegradable, the best way would be to find new uses for it. A way you can recycle something bio-degradable like wooden spoons and forks or pattals i.e. leaf plates (our environment friendly food joints are increasingly going for them!) is by putting them in your garden compost pit! But if you have like piling plastic cutlery already, wait! Don’t throw it yet! Here’s some ideas you can use it for:

Plastic Spoons and Forks

Artistic Project like Bookmarks!

Pic Source: kidsartncraft

One thing that is always in shortage for an avid book reader- Bookmarks! You can make some really interesting and cute bookmarks out of something as simple as a plastic spoon, all you need is a few colors, some decorative sheets and of course the plastic cutlery! Let your imagination run wild and have fun making some amazing bookmarks! (You can make this a fun activity along with your kids too!). 

Turn it into a Gift

No, we aren’t being crazy. You can actually make something beautiful from those plastic spoons like a candle stand! Don’t believe us? Watch this amazing video we found on YouTube:

Video Credit: Original Uploader

Some More ideas for plastic spoons and forks

Still feeling short of ideas. This video can actually tell you 13 innovative ways to recycle them and transform them into something extraordinary.

Video Credit: Original Uploader

Plastic CUPS

Now when we order something delicious like a soup, it often comes in a container and along with it a few plastic disposable glasses are sent by the food joint. What do we do with those? You can actually make amazing organizers and maybe even a flower vase with it! Here’s a video you can watch to find some inspiration:

 Video Credit: Original Uploader

PLASTIC Containers

Not only reuse you can actually make something totally out of the box with these too! You will have fun decorating them and when someone looks at your own little mini creation they will never believe it’s made from something that was actually supposed to go in the trash bin. Here’s a video we found that can give you some amazing ideas:

Video Credit: Original Uploader

Donate

If you don’t really want to accumulate these and have no intention of reusing cutlery that came with takeaway food in your home any longer, there might be organisations or shelter homes near you who may find it useful if they are in a good condition. So just check online first if you can actually donate the stocked-up plastic cutlery. What’s waste for you might actually be something which someone really needs. (A bit off topic, but if you do go to a shelter home nearby please spend some time with the beautiful kids or elderly there and if possible take some nice goodies for them too!)

So, let’s make the best out of waste! This World Environment Day, let’s pledge to do our bit for our beautiful country and planet. We must draw inspiration from young ladies like Thaaragai Arathana, and if all of us chip in then surely we will make a difference! This year's theme is all about 'Only One Earth' i.e. Living Sustainably in Harmony with Nature' so let's go for it!

Cheers to our beautiful planet!