What do you do when you have over 300 items on the menu and you have to find packaging solutions for each of them? Many multi-cuisine restaurants are working overtime to find answers.
Ram Bhat, owner, Matsya Group, said that he is still not happy with the changes made in the packaging. "For the solid stuff we have cardboard boxes but for sambar, rasam, curd vada and juices, the cup with lid I have opted for is not very apt. We are still working on a proper solution and are asking our customers to bear with us for sometime," he said, adding that he has had to train his employees on plastics on how to use the new options.
Rohit Zacharia of Mash Restore Cafe in Besant Nagar said he was trying to get alternatives that are affordable. "We are using sugarcane bagasse containers. But we also need something stylish and elegant and leak-proof. So far we have not passed on the packaging charges to customers," he said.
At Hotel Kalpaka on TTK Road, its owner Diwakar believes that when parcels form around 30% of orders, packing charges need not be passed on to customers. “In the long run, we can adjust costs,” he said.
Foil fancy
Aluminium foil, which has been suggested by the State government as an alternative, has caught the fancy of many restaurants. A section of outlets in Tiruchi have begun using the material. According to a leading hotelier, nearly 40 % of restaurants and eateries have switched to eco-friendly options and the rest continue using plastics. Though aluminium foil is more expensive, a manager of a restaurant near Central Bus Stand in Tiruchi said that they had no option but to bear the additional cost in order to comply with the ban on use-and-throw plastics. Like elsewhere, restaurants in Madurai too are finding it difficult to pack chutneys and sambar. M. Kumaresan, who runs a roadside eatery near Anna bus stand in Madurai, said that while he was using silver-coloured pouches, which are touted as alternatives, some officials warned him not to use them since they also contained plastic.
Stating that he was finding his own ways to address the problem, he said, "I used to offer both coconut and tomato chutneys in liquid form. Now, I have made them thicker so that they can be packed in banana leaves. It costs me more. But I cannot afford to lose customers," he added.
Hotels in Coimbatore have increased charges by 7-10% for takeaways since the ban on throwaway plastics came into effect. The alternatives used by these outlets vary. They have gone in for banana leaves, aluminium foil pouches, bio- degradable pouches, and reusable plastic containers. The packed food is delivered in brown paper bags instead of polythene carry bags and customers have to pay for it in most hotels. Savouries are packed in brown covers, butter paper covers, or plastic containers.
Availability an issue
“We have consulted the Pollution Control Board officials on the alternatives that we can use. However, continuous availability of many of these products might be a problem. It will take 10-15 days for the hotels to finalise sustainable options,” said Jegan S. Damodarasamy, advisor to Coimbatore District Hoteliers Association.
(With inputs from Soundarya Preetha in Coimbatore, Pon Vasanth B.A. in Madurai, and S. Jaisankar in Tiruchi)
