Zomato launches a low-plastic packaging filter

Zomato, India’s food ordering and delivery platform, has launched a new Low Plastic Packaging filter on its app, enabling users to easily discover and order from restaurants that use sustainable alternatives to plastic packaging. The feature puts sustainable food delivery choices at users’ fingertips, making it simpler for users to make informed choices about packaging while placing an order.
 
Available under the ‘Trust Markers’ category on the Zomato app, the new filter highlights restaurants part of Zomato’s Plastic-Free Future Program initiative. These restaurants primarily use alternative materials to plastic — such as paper, bagasse, glass and aluminium to pack their main menu items. Users will also see a Low Plastic Packaging tag on restaurants’ menu pages and a clear mention in their order summary.
 
The new filter is expected to bring increased visibility for participating restaurants among users, encouraging more restaurant partners to adopt sustainable alternatives to plastic packaging.
 
Commenting on the launch, Anjalli Ravi Kumar, chief sustainability officer, said, “Consumers today appreciate the option of making more sustainable choices while ordering from restaurants online. As more alternatives to plastic packaging emerge, we have seen environmentally-conscious restaurant brands embrace these options faster than others and join our Plastic-Free Future Program.” 

Kumar continued, “We are introducing the Low Plastic Packaging filter to make it easier for users, like you and me, to discover these restaurants and motivate more restaurants to join the movement. We have already facilitated 80-million orders from Plastic-Free-Future Program restaurants, and we hope that users will use the filter and contribute to a greener future.”
 
To further reduce the environmental impact of restaurant packaging, Zomato runs a voluntary plastic waste recycling initiative — 100% plastic-neutral deliveries. Under this initiative, the company recycles plastic waste equivalent to the amount used by restaurants for food delivery packaging. 

Since FY23, Zomato has recycled approximately 45,000-MT of plastic waste.