Zomato to introduce 100 pc plastic-neutral deliveries

Foodtech giant Zomato has announced it will be completely plastic neutral with its deliveries. On the occasion of World Earth Day, Zomato Founder and CEO, Deepinder Goyal in a blog said that his company is introducing 100 percent plastic neutral deliveries from April 2022.

"From now on, every meal you order through Zomato will be 100 percent plastic neutral, which means we will voluntarily recycle more than 100 percent of all plastic utilised in your order’s packaging," he wrote.

According to the startup, it has already started its efforts to achieve this, and is working with cutting edge ISO-certified plastic waste management organisations who will partner with municipalities across India to collect and responsibly process plastic waste. 

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Apart from offsetting/recycling the plastic used for deliveries, the company is also looking to propel its efforts to developing and promoting sustainable packaging for all types of cuisines.

"We are aiming to deliver 100+ million additional eco-friendly food delivery orders (orders in sustainable packaging) over the course of the next three years, by supporting our restaurant partners in switching to affordable and sustainable packaging alternatives. To achieve this, we’re going to partner with various stakeholders working on innovative solutions and models for the restaurant industry including government-led initiatives, social enterprises and start-ups," Deepinder says.

In a bid to curtail the use of plastic, Zomato had previously decided to change its default mode, requiring customers to now explicitly “opt-in" for cutlery if they require it. This, according to Deepinder, has helped ensure 74 percent of its orders go without cutlery, preventing tonnes of single-use plastic from reaching landfills.

Last year, Zomato also launched ‘Climate Conscious Delivery’ – with which it started funding local environmental projects to offset the carbon footprint of all its deliveries and packaging in India. 

While working on the mission to become sustainable, the foodtech giant had also signed up for the EV100 initiative- with an aim to move to a 100 percent EV fleet by 2030.

"Doing all this, last year, we offset ~500,000 MTs of carbon emissions. All towards the mission of creating a greener future for our future generations," Deepinder said.