We get it. Sometimes you just don’t have the energy or the patience to make a week’s worth of lunches on a Sunday night. That ends up meaning a whole lotta takeout. In San Francisco (and a bunch of American cities for that matter) people eat out or order takeout almost five times a week. And that means lots of empty takeout containers
To address this unpleasant pattern of waste, GO Box SF was born to help restaurants offer reusable takeout containers. The first GO Box, launched in Portland, OR, has already found great success. SF founder Paul Liotsakis hopes the same will be the case in California and is currently raising funds on Indiegogo.
Liotsakis told Fast Coexist: “For years I have been troubled at the sight of the overflowing recycling and trash bins after the lunch rush at my work. I worked for an environmental nonprofit dealing with energy matters, and it was like a slap in the face every time I would go down for lunch.”
With the launch of GO Box, participating restaurants get stacks of the clean boxes for anyone who comes in who has signed up for the program. After customers finish their food, they drop off the box in a collection bin. The boxes are picked up, washed and brought back to restaurants. Each box can last for as many as 500 uses.
Interested folks have to pay to be part of the program, which costs $29 a year. The regular takeout boxes are free and some restaurants also offer free food as incentive to offset the cost.
What will the future hold for GO Box and sustainable takeout? We aren’t sure, but we’re very hopeful that it will be one that’s more environmentally responsible. If you want to see this idea come to life, head over to their crowdfunding page and pledge $50 to help them start servicing San Francisco.
What do you think about GO Boxes? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
