What is sustainability?
At Just Eat, sustainability refers to carrying out business activities in a responsible way, mitigating our impact on the environment and positively impacting partners, couriers, customers and communities.
What does sustainable packaging mean at Just Eat?
We use four key guidelines to define sustainable packaging at Just Eat:
No plastic or bioplastic: Our packaging range does not contain plastic or bioplastic.
No harmful chemicals: Our packaging range is screened for 64 different types of chemicals, including PFASs, harmful inks and dyes.
Recyclable or compostable: Offer recyclable or compostable packaging and disposables to help reduce waste.
Food Safe: All our packaging is manufactured to be safe for food contact.
What do you mean by ‘no plastic or bioplastic’?
It simply means our packaging range doesn’t contain any plastic or bioplastic.
We ask all our suppliers to ensure that their products comply with the EU definition of plastic packaging. This includes products made completely or partly with polymers, which are considered plastic, except for natural polymers, such as wool, silk and cellulose.
Bioplastic is a type of biodegradable plastic made from biological substances. We exclude bioplastics, such as PLAs, from our range as they are considered plastic according to the EU definition.
The definition above covers several types of packaging – from packaging made entirely out of plastic, to those that have a lining made of plastic. We screen our products carefully to ensure that polymers are not present in the packaging material (with a few exceptions*).
* What are the exceptions, or cases in which polymers are allowed?
We always try to exclude polymers from our packaging, but can’t always guarantee that there are no polymers in the inks and glue, or certain recycled paper materials that are used in the packaging.
This is due to the lack of available polymer-free alternatives for inks and glues. We’ll continue researching and testing no-plastic substitutes that are available in the market to find the best alternatives for our range and planet.
Which chemicals do you screen the packaging for?
PFASs and PFAS derivatives: These are ‘forever chemicals’, as they don’t break down in the environment, and are commonly found in packaging linings.
Phthalates and Bisphenols: Such as BPA and BPS that can cause health issues.
Our goal is to ensure our packaging range is safe for both our customers and the environment. So, we’ve created a list of 64 {Brand Name} banned chemical ingredients. We ask our suppliers to confirm that these chemicals are not added to any branded packaging we source from them.
Aren’t these chemicals banned by law?
Our list includes several chemicals that are not yet banned by law, but are seen as substances of concern, including chemicals such as bisphenol A and phthalates. We care about the health of our customers and our environment, and are following all the best practice guidance from the industry as well as policy makers.
What do you mean by compostable packaging?
There are two types of compostable packaging materials: industrial and home compostable. Industrial compostable packaging can only biodegrade under certain conditions within an industrial composting facility.
Home compostable packaging materials can biodegrade in a home composter.
How do you ensure Just Eat’s packaging is sustainable?
We identify available innovative packaging solutions.
We screen potential innovators to ensure they meet our quality and food safety criterias, and their packaging solutions have minimal environmental impact.
We test different innovations and gather insights from restaurants and customers for further improvements.
We then scale these innovations, so all our restaurant partners and customers can benefit from our sustainable packaging range.
Is your packaging range FSC certified?
Yes, most of our packaging is FSC certified (from responsibly managed forests). We ask our suppliers to provide details of their FSC certification.
This ensures that the forests used for paper production are managed responsibly, using all materials efficiently, and without harming endangered species, or affecting human rights. We highlight which items are FSC certified in the product description in our Partner Webshop.
Why do you not use bagasse/sugarcane packaging in your range?
Our branded range currently has primarily paper based alternatives. We don’t consider bagasse/sugarcane as sustainable options, due to their chemical composition and high energy and water usage during the production stage.
Why do you offer more paper based alternatives?
Paper and fibre based packaging are better than most other materials because they release biogenic emissions, and are more likely to be recycled, plus chemicals in these products can be controlled more closely through screening.
Does your packaging have recycled materials?
Yes, some of our packaging contains recycled materials in the external layers, and in some of our napkins and carrier bags that don't come into contact with food.
Why not just focus on reusable packaging to eliminate waste altogether?
As our goal is to reduce the impact of packaging, we’re focused on both sustainable single-use packaging as well as reusable packaging.
To help achieve our goal, we trial reusable packaging in different markets like the UK, Netherlands, Canada, Switzerland and Germany.
As for single-use packaging, we follow strict sustainability guidelines to ensure that all the branded packaging we offer has a lower impact on the environment.
Sustainable packaging on the Just Eat Partner Webshop
How expensive is your packaging?
Products with the Just Eat logo are competitively priced and cheaper than similar non-branded packaging options.
Does all packaging on the Partner Webshop comply with these guidelines?
All our packaging with the Just Eat logo follow these guidelines.
Unfortunately, we can’t screen all third-party vendor products, but we do have a no plastic policy for products where alternatives are easily available.
Why does the webshop still have some plastic options despite the no plastic policy ?
Some of these options might still be on the Partner Webshop because there are no suitable alternatives available to replace them (for example, container lids or plastic lined paper containers).
Also, our Partner Webshop serves as a marketplace for third party vendors. While we regularly check the products in the webshop and remove the items that do not follow the guidelines or are banned, sometimes they’re missed and stay on display a little longer.
Our ambition and approach
What is Just Eat doing to help solve the packaging waste problem?
Even though we cannot control the packaging that is used by our partners, we still aim to reduce its environmental impact within the food delivery sector. We want our restaurant partners to have the right support to understand and choose sustainable packaging options.
We’ve also informed our suppliers that we won’t accept single-use plastic products, where sustainable alternatives are available. And we’ve partnered with Notpla, who make seaweed coated cardboard box packaging – we’re now selling this packaging in our key markets, including Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and the UK.
And to achieve this, we are constantly working on three key areas:
Identifying sustainable alternatives to plastic packaging for our branded range and making them available at suitable and competitive prices.
Identifying scalable, reusable packaging partners to reduce the amount of packaging waste.
Ensuring that our packaging guidelines and definition of sustainability are clear, so our restaurant partners can make informed choices.