Good to Go Doggy Bag Initiative
Tackling ‘plate waste’ from restaurants and changing the culture around leftovers.
APPLICATIONS FOR STARTER PACKS ARE NOW CLOSED.
Good to Go has been developed to change the culture around leftovers and save food from the bin by giving customers an easy way to take uneaten food home. Our research revealed that customers are keen to be offered ‘doggy bags’, however, two-fifths are too shy to ask. Restaurants participating in our Good to Go pilot, where customers were proactively offered doggy bags, reported average food waste reductions of 42% and that customers overwhelmingly welcomed the service.
Every year, 53,500 tonnes of food is wasted in Scottish restaurants, costing an estimated £64 million. Around two-thirds of this food waste could have been avoided and 34% of this is estimated to be ‘plate waste’ – good food left by the customer at the end of the meal.
Good to Go is a great opportunity to enhance sustainability credentials by being part of a recognised national initiative. By providing the customer with instructions for keeping food safe on each box, it also addresses safety fears. Some restaurants also said that being part of Good to Go actually improved sales as customers who weren't sure if they could manage additional courses ordered them anyway and took some home.
Zero Waste Scotland wants your support to drive change in this area so we are now offering FREE starter packs of 300 boxes, bags and communication materials to businesses employing up to 250 employees. Help us achieve Scotland’s world-leading target to reduce food waste by 33% by 2025.
Starter packs
Applications for starter packs are now closed.
