Business owner urges city to dump the plastic
Pressure to make eco-friendly packaging mandatory for all food trucks
Murray Jones plans to have all his packaging completely eco-friendly by 2018. He also plans to propose the city make compostable and recyclable containers a mandatory part of all food truck licences. - Jessica Davey-Quantick/NNSL photo
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Jessica Davey-Quantick
Northern News Services
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Food truck season might be drawing to a close, but Murray Jones is already thinking about how to take out the trash next year.
The owner of Murray's Curbside Treats N' Eats has been using compostable and recyclable containers since his second year of business. Now he wants all food trucks in Yellowknife to get onboard the compost bus, so he plans to ask the city to make eco-friendly containers a requirement for all food-truck licences next year.
"People tend to eat and then dump their stuff in garbage bins," he said. "(I'd) propose that food trucks at least have compostable containers or recycled containers. That would be a good start."
He plans to bring his proposal to council this fall.
Jones would eventually like to see all restaurants that offer take-out use eco-friendly containers too, as well as a ban on bottled water sales at all public events.
The Yellowknife Farmer's Market has adopted similar practices, with a focus on compostable packaging and encouragements for market-goers to bring their own plates. This year, the Farmer's Market estimates about 1,000 kilograms of market waste has been diverted from the landfill to the compost facility.
"When you go to the farmers market it's amazing what they've been able to sideline away from regular garbage," said Jones. "So I certainly think it can be done. We just have to do the little things that get people thinking the right way."
At Murray's Curbside Treats N' Eats, Jones uses two types of cardboard container, one recyclable and one compostable, as well as compostable plastic cups and lids. He hopes to be fully compostable - right down to his straws - by next year.
It doesn't come cheap - he says the eco-friendly packaging adds around 15 cents to each meal he sells. But Styrofoam takes around 200 years to break down in the landfill and when it does, it releases toxins into the air and water.
"To me it's worth it," he said.
No members of city council replied to Yellowknifer's request for comment on the idea.
"Currently compostable containers are not a requirement of food trucks," stated Richard McIntosh communications and economic development officer with the city, in response to a request for comment.
This wouldn't be the first time there have been steps in this jurisdiction to rein in plastics - in 2011, all retailers in the NWT were required by law to charge people for each single-use plastic bag.
"I know when that started people thought, 'Oh this is crazy,'" said Jones. "But people are right in tune with that now."
According to Statistics Canada, in 2014 Canadians were responsible for sending almost 10 million tonnes of trash to the dump, a seven-per cent increase from 2006.
