At Eat by Alex one of our core values is the environment. Using technology, we have created innovative processes in our kitchen to ensure it is zero waste, and use packaging that is mostly made out of plants residues and can be disposed of sustainably.
We do not use plastic but PLA which is a type of polyester made from fermented plant starch from corn, cassava, maize, sugarcane or sugar beet pulp.
Our goal in the future is to be able to offer a reusable concept but for now we have not been able to find a reliable solution.
How should the Eat by Alex packaging be properly recycled?
1. Cardboard Bowls, Cups & Lids
You can recycle all of our cardboard bowls, cups & lids in your building's carton recycling bins or during the bi-weekly carton recycling day. Be sure to fully wash out any food particles, dry and stack your bowls to use as little space when you discard them.
2. PET Bottles
Our shake and shot bottles are recycled PET, one of the best recycled materials in Switzerland. Yes, even better recycled than glass for example, which has to be sent to Germany to be recycled. The best way to recycle PET, is to bring them to grocery stores with a PET & plastic recycling section. Again, be sure to wash out any drink residue.
Companies like Mr. Green are great because they take care of all your recycling and even collect all your plastic. They come once or twice a month to your home to collect your recycling bags.
3. Dressing Pots
Our dressing pots are all made of PLA. PLA is a plant-based material that is degradable and that can be incinerated leaving no residue. You should discard the PLA lids and pots with your normal garbage which will be incinerated.
In countries like the UK, PLA can be disposed of with the organic waste but Switzerland has not yet allowed it so still needs to go with your normal waste.
HELP US GET BETTER!
It so important for us to know that you properly take care of your packaging and recycle it well. Recycling and using sustainable materials is a very important topic for us. We regularly check for updates and new solutions to reduce our waste. If you have heard of any company that could support us or if you have any brilliant ideas on what could be done, we are all ears.
What we tried so far
A few years ago, Eat by Alex, being a delivery concept, ran the first pilot project with RECIRCLE. Unfortunately, our customers were not returning the containers to us but to other partners (who didn't like that), so RECIRCLE didn't want to continue working with us. Their concept is really for locations where you get the food and return the reusable container back to the same location. Us being a delivery concept, doesn't allow for that.
Why not glass?
The only clever and sustainable way to use glass is to reuse it. Unfortunately us delivering by Post Swiss wide made it very difficult because occasionally the glass could break and everything had to be discarded in that batch.
Additionally we currently do not have the capacity to store and clean so much different packaging (shakes, lunches, dinners, shots, dressing pots and breakfasts).
Also, understanding the environmental impact of reusing packaging is complicated. The packaging has to be used a certain number of times to off put the environmental impact of returning it. With delivery using the Post we cannot simply have our couriers pick up the packaging while they deliver the next box.
We hope soon a clever and reliable comes to Switzerland so that we can be the first one to use it with our customers.