Café stops serving single use plastics

The café at Kirkwall Town Hall and Community Centre has switched to using eco-friendly packaging for the food and drinks it offers.

Single use plastics are no longer used at the St Magnus Café to wrap or package sandwiches, rolls, baguettes, salads and hot food – with sustainable alternatives used instead.

Takeaway cups and soup containers are now biodegradable, as are the takeaway knives, forks and spoons the café provides.

“We were inspired by the lead children have taken in working on projects to reduce the use of single use plastics,” said café manager Peter Sherratt.

“We wanted to play our own part and have been actively seeking ways to stop using conventional plastic packaging wherever possible.

“We now use environmentally friendly packaging for the vast majority of the food and drinks we provide. The alternatives to plastic we’re using are derived from corn and other plant-based materials. Paper and card are from trees grown in sustainably managed forests and all the packaging we use can be composted – as can the takeaway knives, forks and spoons.”

The café is contributing to one of the top priorities within OIC’s Council Plan 2018-23 for improving the quality of life in Orkney – ‘eliminate single use/ disposable plastic items within the Council where possible, and support others to do likewise’.