Styrofoam we knew thee well

Virginia is in the process of banning all Styrofoam containers for food service operations. On July 1, 2025 all operations with more than 20 locations had to stop using them. Smaller operators have an extra year to adjust. I am in charge of a kitchen that will really have to adjust. We serve a very cost conscious fixed/low/no income neighborhood that's already being hit pretty hard by inflation. I got twelve months to figure it out legally speaking. And I will certainly bid it out to all vendors for samples and ideas and pricing. But I wanted to pick the hive mind here as well (and not the other place).

Our concept is a soul food cafeteria style hot bar. 1 Meat and 2 Sides kind of thing. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Goal is to get the best value we can for the customer while making a teeny bit of profit. Speed, consistency, comfort food. And let me tell you, compared to the luxury hotel market, the margins are pretty bleak already. Everything is served on Styrofoam now. I need to figure out alternatives that are customer friendly (not an order of magnitude more expensive/behave similar enough to what they are used to), employee friendly (behave similar enough to what they are used to) and employer friendly (not an order of magnitude more expensive).

I have worked other concepts with lots of takeout. I have used various aluminum, plastic, biodegradable, paper, bamboo, you name it. But as the Styrofoam bans go into affect in more and more places, I would be interested to hear about what kinds of creative things you all have encountered.

 

Since you need compartments, that probably leaves you with plastic, paper and foil. As a consumer, the lids on the foil trays kinda suck, and you can't stick the trays in a microwave (but if it's stuff best heated in an oven then they are okay). Plastic raises microplastic issues, which mainly means its not microwave friendly. I think paper trays with hinged lids are a great option, and likely priced a bit less than plastic. They can go from fridge to nuke. But not for oven use.

 

Main concern with paper trays is watery stuff like string beans and collard greens. But a lot of times if customers are concerned with that they are already package those kinds of sides in deli cup lid combos. But then that's another expense. Sigh.

 

Are there any options like a PLA coated paper/cardboard? I don't think they're suitable for a microwave though. Also no idea of the cost vs styrofoam : (

 

That's what I use for my coffee cups I think. The law is specific to expanded polystyrene I believe. So coated paper products should be okay.

 

It sounds stupid, but here me out. Paper to go containers, A la Chinese take out , as an idea. sides go in a coffee cup with a snap on lid.... you have wet things contained safely and cost effectively, your not using plastic( cost), your not needing styrofoam ( law). Its not pretty, but that does not seem to be your focus either.

 

Would it be acting out of pocket to simply add a togo modifier button to the POS that charges 20 cents per plate?

 

From a sales point it would be better to add that cost to a dish , than to make it a separate charge

 

It really is hard to fathom that we can make smartphones and a self driving car but can't come up with a cost effective alternative to plastic and styrofoam.

 

maybe that's because plastic/ Styrofoam are extremely cost effective? Neither smartphones nor self driving cars are cost effective, so that's a tough 'argument'. It's easy to make alternative packaging materials that are way more expensive than what is currently used, the same way smartphones are way more expensive than 'dumb' mobile phones, and self-driving cars sell for more $$ than cars that require drivers.

And just for a little irony, smartphones and cars have loads of plastic

 

The products listed are an examples of advanced knowledge and progress. You would think with the advancements of the modern era we could get past plastics....

 

I guess being somewhat in the construction industry, I've only seen how difficult and expensive it is trying to develop other materials that can be transformed into finished products that aren't far more expensive or that don't have their own set of environmental issues. Various forms of plastics are used in countless products. it's cheap, it can be molded/ extruded into any geometry, and it's light (so less fuel needed to transport).

I do not expect to see plastics go away in my lifetime -- which is a relative short period since I am not made of plastic :-(