DeliverZero makes it easy to embrace reusable containers for food takeout and delivery.
Americans are hooked on the convenience of takeout or delivery food: Over half of adults say it’s essential to the way they live, according to the National Restaurant Association. But with convenience comes trash. Every year, Americans use more than 500 billion single-use foodservice items.
DeliverZero is working to ameliorate this waste. The company has partnered with 250 restaurants and select Whole Foods locations in New York, Los Angeles, and Colorado to provide—and pick up—containers made from BPA-free polypropylene that can be reused up to 1,000 times.
In April 2023, DeliverZero partnered with Uber Eats, offering the option to customers ordering from select restaurants in the city. In September, it expanded to Los Angeles—where certain types of food packaging cannot typically be recycled—through a partnership with Gently, a delivery and pickup logistics service. Its service integrates with popular online ordering programs, letting restaurants opt in to offer the eco-friendly service. Later in the fall, DoorDash added the option in L.A. for customers to choose DeliverZero packaging at participating restaurants.
Customers have three weeks to return DeliverZero’s containers and can drop them at any provider that uses them. They can schedule pickups at home, or, in some cases, hand them to their delivery courier when they receive their next food order.
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