Due to Covid-19 also the third regional stakeholder meeting organised by UCB (Cluster of Environmental Technologies Bavaria) took place online on the 20th of January 2021. The thematic focus of the event was reusable packaging for take-away food.
The regional steering group of PLASTECO including UCB, the city of Augsburg, the forum plastic-free Augsburg as well as the municipal waste management operator, decided to focus on this topic due to its topicality. Take-away food is very popular, especially as restaurants are currently closed in Germany during the lockdown. This results in a high amount of packaging waste which can be avoided by using reusable items.
The event with 50 participants was opened by Reiner Erben, the head of the sustainability department of the city of Augsburg and moderated by Christina Zegowitz, PLASTECO project manager of UCB. Different start-ups presented their solutions for reusable bowls, e.g., with a deposit scheme or with a consumer app. In addition, two gastronomic businesses shared their experiences with reusable packaging for take-away food.
In general, the topic of “multiple-use instead of single-use” was identified as an important topic for the city of Augsburg and should be further worked on within the framework of PLASTECO.
