Just Eat, the food delivery service, is taking action against plastic pollution by expanding its trial of Notpla’s seaweed-coated takeaway box. This eco-friendly box is fully recyclable and can decompose in just four weeks when put in a home compost. According to estimates, 500 million plastic takeaway boxes are used each year in the UK takeaway industry, and despite being reusable, many still end up in landfills.

After a successful trial with three London takeaways last year, Just Eat is now testing Notpla’s seaweed-coated box with eleven restaurant partners across the UK, which is expected to prevent 30,000 plastic boxes from being disposed of. This three-week trial aims to determine the feasibility of rolling out the box more broadly to Just Eat Takeaway.com’s restaurant partners across other markets.

The seaweed and plant composite-lined cardboard container is made from tree and grass pulp without any synthetic additives, making it water-resistant and greaseproof, ensuring customers can still enjoy their takeaway sustainably.

Robin Clark, Senior Director of Global Partnerships and Sustainability at Just Eat, said: “We are absolutely committed to building a more sustainable future for the food delivery industry, using our reach and expertise to help our restaurant partners adopt more environmentally-friendly products and practices.” Just Eat has already taken several positive steps towards driving this change, including removing single-use plastics and pioneering the use of seaweed sauce sachets while increasing the use of electric vehicles in food delivery.

Pierre Paslier, co-founder and co-CEO of Notpla, added: “Now, more than ever, is the time to adopt sustainable packaging solutions that don’t deceive consumers.” Unlike any other solution on the market, the Notpla coating is free from any synthetic chemical, instead using seaweed, a material that has been tested by nature for over 100 million years. This approach means no plastic, no microplastics, and no “forever chemicals.”

This project is an extension of the existing partnership between Just Eat and Notpla, which has already piloted the use of seaweed-based sauce sachets with several restaurants, stopping over 46,000 plastic sachets from entering customer homes. The two companies continue to explore the best way to roll out these initiatives more widely across the sector.