Abstract
This study aims to determine the composition and the weight of individual single-use items (SUIs) generated in the selected fast-food restaurants (FFRs) in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data of SUIs consumed per day from 126 FFRs covering six popular fast food companies (FFCs). At the same time, waste from 30 FFRs was collected, and its composition and weight were determined. Consequently, the amount and composition of the waste varied among the studied FFCs and is dependent on the food menu, the number of franchises for each FFC, customer number, size, and the type of SUIs used at these restaurants. Total waste collected across the six FFCs was 6 t.d-1 and was equivalent to 1560 t.yr-1 in HCMC. Of which, single-use plastic items (SUPIs) waste and single-use paper items (SUPaIs) waste accounted for 39% and 28%, respectively. The total weight of unnecessary SUPIs (condiment containers, straws, and forks) generated was about 44 t.yr-1. The results suggest that the necessity of standardizing the type and size of the SUIs used at the FFRs, phasing out the use of unnecessary SUPIs, improving the local waste management practices through material recovery and recycling.
Highlights
The fast-food industry (FFI) has rapidly developed for decades due to the economic development and an increase in the “on the go” consumption culture
Waste management at each fast-food restaurants (FFRs) is started by collecting waste research, which reported that the percentage of food waste and in the dining area and the kitchen area of the FFR
The study showed that amount and type of single-use items (SUIs) consumed and disposed of varied among the studied fast food companies (FFCs) and was dependent on the local waste management technologies and the national policies in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)
Summary
The fast-food industry (FFI) has rapidly developed for decades due to the economic development and an increase in the “on the go” consumption culture. Single-use plastic items (SUPIs) are commonly used in fast-food restaurants (FFRs), small packaging industries, and retail shop owners and grocery stores for product delivery, and they treat plastics as waste rather than a valuable resource. The FFI generates a considerable amount of packaging waste or single-use items (SUIs) that include cups, containers, cutlery, straws, lids, and bags. Most packaging waste comes from dining areas (39%), followed by kitchen areas (36%) and outside restaurants (25%) (Aarnio & Hämäläinen 2008). Plastic packaging accounted for 47% of the globally generated plastic waste, with more than 50% originating from Asia (UNEP 2018b). It is estimated that food delivery packaging waste account for 1% of the annual municipal solid waste generated in China (Song et al 2018). Most packaging waste in the FFI is landfilled, its theoretical recovery potential was 93%, and only 29% of the packaging waste is recovered (Aarnio & Hämäläinen 2008)
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