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Subway unveils recycled catering trays

April 23, 2013

The Subway restaurant chain has introduced catering trays that are made from 95 percent post-consumer recycled PET. The brand estimates that the adoption will keep about 1.8 million pounds of plastic materials from going directly into the waste stream annually.

Each tray and lid is made from about 19, 20-ounce recycled plastic soda or water bottles and can be recycled where commercial facilities exist. The new catering trays are used in nearly 29,000 Subway units in the U.S. and Canada.

"We have made a commitment to look at every facet of our day-to-day operations in order to make our restaurants more environmentally responsible," said Elizabeth Stewart, marketing director, who also oversees the brand's Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. "With every step we take towards sustainability, such as with the improvements we've made to catering trays this year, and those that we made to salad bowls and lids last year, we are closer to our end goal of being able to show a significant difference in the Subway brand's overall footprint."

She estimates that both the catering tray and salad bowl changes will keep more than 4 million pounds of plastic out of landfills each year.

The catering trays and lids were created by Pactiv of Lake Forest, Ill. Pactiv works with a state-of-the-art facility that cleans and recycles PET soda and water bottles, creating the materials used in the new trays. Subway is looking at additional pieces of plastic packaging that can utilize these recycled materials.

The new catering trays display the sandwiches in a way that allows guests to choose without having to touch the food to determine the ingredients.

"Along with creating a better display of sandwiches, the new catering trays were designed so they can be easily stored and transported, as they now feature handles on the sides of the platters and a structure allowing trays to be stacked," said Michael Fox, the Packaging Technologist for the brand. "The lids for the new platters were designed based on consumer and franchisee feedback; they are designed to snap on very easily and securely — and to be easily removed as well. We even incorporated a space for sauces and napkins so that everything comes in one package."

Read more about sustainability efforts.