FAST FOOD PACKING WASTE IN JORDAN: OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainable waste management requires innovative ways to reduce the carbon footprint and make use of the renewable resources available. Packaging although necessary, gives rise to waste which forms 34% of Jordan’s solid wastes. It adds to the environmental degradation and requires urgent action. In order to reduce the carbon foot print of fast food packaging waste in Jordan an innovative, sustainable and green solution is the ‘green banana’ project. The idea is to use the abundantly available leaves of banana and fig trees for food wrapping, serving, packaging and presentation in fast food outlets in Jordan. The first point of focus of the “leafy” initiative will be the local fast food outlets in Amman that use non-biodegradable plastic and polystyrene food containers and serve typical fast foods like ‘shawerma’, ‘homus’, ‘foul’, ‘falafel’ and other sandwiches. The aim is to bring awareness to the fast food industry in Jordan of the energy conservation and cost saving attributes of adopting this leafy solution for food serving and packaging. The purpose is also to initiate a policy change of banning single use plastic and polystyrene containers for fast food in Jordan.