EATING GOOD. DOING GOOD.
Big news as we approach Earth Day! EATABLE is proud to announce that our company is now Certified Plastic Neutral. This means, for each unit of product sold, we're taking one unit of packaging out of our environment.
We've partnered with rePurpose Global to fund the collection, processing, and recovery of as much nature-bound plastic waste as we use across our packaging.
How does that help?
By donating a percentage of every product purchase to plastic reduction efforts, EATABLE is enabling the removal of over 440+ lbs of low-value plastic waste otherwise landfilled, burned, or flushed into the oceans every year.
Through its partnership with rePurpose Global, we're supporting vetted waste management social enterprise Taka Taka Solutions in Nairobi, Kenya to collect and process hard-to-recycle waste streams otherwise too low value to be reclaimed from the environment, such as chocolate wrappers, chips packets, and similar flexible packaging items.
Taka Taka is the first organization in Kenya to install and commission a recycling plant that handles single-use plastic containers with a capacity of approximately 20,000 kg per day. With businesses committing and contributing towards the Plastic Neutral movement, rePurpose Global’s Plastic Offset project can now expand input into Taka Taka Solutions’ newly established single-use plastic recycling plant.
With the total waste processing capacity increasing to 390 tons each month, this project is able to employ 320 full-time staffers (60% women) with health insurance and other benefits of formalization. Nevertheless, it also creates opportunities for at least 150 marginalized community members in the process of expansion.
The First Step In Our Sustainability Journey
While we're not yet free of plastic, this marks an important first step in EATABLE's sustainability journey. We're committed to supporting this cause both in our own community and globally.
By going Plastic Neutral, EATABLE is not only tackling a $30 billion per year funding gap that plagues recycling supply chains worldwide, but is also adding a crucial income stream for over 50 waste pickers and their families in Nairobi, Kenya.
Today, informal waste workers often earn less than $5/day, work in precarious conditions, and face severe discrimination despite providing a crucial societal service for cities across the developing world. Through this initiative, we're helping to boosting these waste workers’ income by attaching value to hard-to-recycle plastics, while supporting experienced recycling social enterprises who holistically uplift ex-waste pickers through occupational safety, health insurance, and skills training.
As a conscious and innovative player in the gourmet packaged food sector, EATABLE recognizes the grave threat that plastic pollution poses to the future of our planet and is planning to take further action against this epidemic. EATABLE’s commitment to sustainability can be traced back to their launch in early 2019.
“Our mission has always been to offer our customers the best quality snacks, while being mindful of the impact on our environment. We have seen the devastating amount of waste generated every day by the food industry. To us, this crisis was impossible to ignore even as a small business, se we decided to step up.” said Vince Li, Co-founder of EATABLE.
"We truly believe in the power of brands to affect long-lasting change. We hope this first step in our sustainability journey will inspire our community and other brands to join us in tackling plastic waste, and preserve our planet for our children and future generations.” added Co-founder Charlene Li.
“Planetary protection is at the core of EATABLE. It’s so refreshing to see them push the boundaries on tackling the plastic waste problem. Forward-thinking brands like EATABLE are the need of the hour. We hope this pioneering move pushes more brands to take responsibility for their own plastic waste.” said Aditya Siroya, co-founder and Chief Impact Officer of rePurpose Global, the world’s first Plastic Credit Platform helping people and companies take genuine climate action by financing the removal and recovery of nature-bound plastic waste worldwide.
The social enterprise co-designs and executes waste management and economic empowerment projects in collaboration with its global network of impact partners across 3 continents and 7 countries, such as India, Indonesia, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Colombia.
To learn more about EATABLE's sustainability pledge, click here.
More EATABLE News:
- Celebrate Earth Day with EATABLE
- Choose Plastic Neutral with EATABLE (rePurpose Global X EATABLE)
- Learn About Taka Taka Solutions’ Mission
- Learn About the Plastic Neutral Movement
- Read About the EATABLE Story
