• Food delivery app DoorDash has announced a returnable and reusable pilot program called DashLoop.
• The pilot is limited to ten restaurants in the Half Moon Bay area and requires customers to return the empty containers themselves.

If you’ve ever ordered takeout food, then you’ve seen firsthand how much single-use plastic meals generate. From containers, cutlery, and cling wrap to lids, bags, and straws, it takes a lot of plastic to get orders to their final destination and into your belly.

The convenience of food delivery apps has only increased demand for takeout, which also contributes to single-use plastic waste. According to analysts at Grand View Research, the global food delivery market was over $288 billion and is projected to reach $505 billion by 2030. Exacerbating that growth, a study conducted in Europe found that the majority of ocean trash took the form of some kind of takeaway packaging, including food containers, plastic bags, bottles, cutlery, wrappers, cups, and lids—much of it plastic. Moreover, most of this kind of trash settles on the ocean floor or ends up on the shoreline.