Earthware
Return for reuse food takeout container service
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
CONDENSED CASE STUDY
IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL: Environmental awarenessIncreased environmental stewardshipIncreased resource utilisationPreserving Natural Capital - stocks & flows of energy and materialReduced emissionsReduced waste
ECONOMIC: Alternative revenue streamsIncreased competitivenessIncreased Financial CapitalIncreased Manufactured Capital - material goods or fixed assets which contribute to the production process rather than being the output itselfIncreased value creationJob creationNew marketsReduced economic pressureReduced spendingStimulating innovation
SOCIAL: Increased access to services/productsIncreased Human Capital - people's health, knowledge, skills and motivationIncreased inclusionIncreased local prideIncreased local resilienceIncreased quality of life
MODEL
SCALE: Local
LOCATION CONTEXT: Urban
STATUS: Active
FUTURE POTENTIAL: Scaleable
FACETFood & Drink, Plastic, Reuse, Waste Management
LEVEL: Micro - Company/Organisation, Nano - User, Product, Component & Material
STAKEHOLDERS: Citizen, Financial Sector, Fourth Sector, Knowledge Sector, Private Sector, Public Sector
BUSINESS MODEL: B2B - Business to Business, B2C - Business to Consumer, B2G - Business to Government
LICENSE: Proprietary
SOCIETAL READINESS LEVEL:
CYCLE PHASE
CASE STUDY MAPPING SOURCE:
- CAN-CECL1
Circular Case Studies by Circular Regions licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
STATUS & TIMELINE
| Start Date | 01/2022 | Earthware went live. |
| Dedicated wash facility | 01/2023 | Dedicated wash facility will be built. |
| Expand to Edmonton | 07/2023 | Plan to expand to second canadian city. |
DESCRIPTION
TITLE: Earthware
CONCEPT: Return for reuse food takeout container service
In just 11 months, Earthware has become a force for garbage reduction in Calgary. Our ever growing list of 50 restaurants, grocery stores and others has stopped over 10,000 takeout containers from hitting our landfills.
Earthware supplies our partner restaurants, hotels and grocers, return-for-reuse takeout containers. The consumer requests their takeout to be sent in reusable containers. They use, rinse and return the container to Earthware via a community drop-off bin or request a pick up.
In January we will be moving to a new business model made possible by an agreement with the Alberta Bottle Depot Association. Our partners will charge a small deposit on all Earthware containers and consumers can retrieve a portion of that deposit by returning Earthware containers with their bottles and cans. Earthware then sanitizes the containers and restocks our partners allowing them to be used hundreds of times.
LOCAL LANGUAGE DESCRIPTION: English
ORGANISATION / PARTNERS
Earthware
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