Unsustainable plastic consumption associated with online food delivery services in the new normal

Abstract

The restaurant industry is one of the hardest hit sectors of the COVID-19 pandemic. The prolonged closures and declining patrons brought about by community lockdowns have imposed financial struggles to numerous restaurants and food establishments. As people were forced to remain indoors in order to curb the spread of the virus, demand for online food delivery service has surged. The growing demand for this type of food service is predicted to significantly alter the consumption pattern of restaurant patrons, which may accelerate the consumption of single-use plastics. In this paper, sustainability challenges relating to plastic consumption associated with online food delivery services are presented together with recommendations on how to address them. From the proposed actions to be implemented, it appears that the online food delivery service providers are in a central position to implement potentially high-impact actions within a relatively shorter time horizon compared with different stakeholders, such as the consumers, restaurants, and governments. Thus, encouraging greater accountability and initiatives from online food delivery service providers will be crucial in the drive for cleaner and responsible consumption of plastics derived from food deliveries.