Uber Eats

The Uber Eats and Planet Ark partnership is designed to help Australian restaurants transition to more sustainable packaging options and to educate consumers on how to best dispose of packaging at home.

In January 2024, Uber Eats announced up to 13 million dollars in funding over the next three years to stimulate more sustainable packaging uptake through programs and subsidies in Australia and New Zealand. This follows a pilot initiative in the last quarter of 2023, where Uber Eats offered all small to medium sized businesses access to $1m in funding to support the purchase of more sustainable packaging through their packaging partner, Detpak.

Uber Eats ANZ General Manager Bec Nyst said: “We are thrilled to partner with Planet Ark to bring information to businesses that are looking to make the shift to more sustainable packaging. We’ve already seen the incredible impact our technology can have on the restaurant ecosystem. Since making cutlery opt-in, rather than being included by default, we estimate eaters have helped reduce the equivalent weight of four jumbo jets worth of plastic forks, spoons and the like ending up in Australian landfill.”

The partnership’s first milestone has been consultation on a framework from the University of Technology, Sydney’s Institute of Sustainable Futures. The peer-reviewed framework identifies whether a restaurant’s packaging meets certain sustainability criteria, including what is considered reusable, recyclable or compostable within the framework.

Uber Eats will continue to work in partnership with industry experts like Planet Ark, government, and business leaders to share knowledge and address challenges in the packaging lifecycle, allowing restaurants to focus on their core business of hospitality and cuisine. Planet Ark’s CEO Rebecca Gilling said: “There is increasing expectation from consumers, governments and the community to reduce the environmental impact of packaging. With the announcement that the federal government will become the new regulator of packaging standards, mandating how packaging is designed, setting minimum recycled content requirements, and prohibiting harmful chemicals being used, all ladder up to encouraging developments.”

“But while this is a positive outcome, there is still much to do, and there is a clear need to provide support to small businesses - including restaurants - on how to reduce packaging waste. We’re delighted to be able to announce a multi-year effort with Uber Eats to help them assist their restaurant partners - and to lift the standard for the sector more broadly.”

Together, Uber Eats and Planet Ark are committed to fostering more sustainable packaging outcomes and reducing the environmental impact of packaging from food in Australia.

Read more about the partnership in this article from Uber Eats - uber.com/en-AU/newsroom/planetark