Ontario company Friendlier aims to help phase out single-use plastics
Their company has already washed nearly half a million plastic containers, but the founders of Friendlier hope to scrub more and expand their operations as Canada phases out single-use plastics.
Kayli Dale and Jacquie Hutchings, both chemical engineers, launched Friendlier in 2019 while studying at the University of Waterloo.
Dale said their goal was “to create the biggest sustainability impact” possible, and after noticing that Canada was lagging behind in reusable plastics - especially compared to Europe - decided to focus there.
Friendlier's business model was inspired by rugby fans in England, where Hutchins saw people lining up after a match to get a refund on the deposit they paid for a plastic beer cup.
The company provides partner businesses - mainly restaurants, cafes and shops - with containers that include a QR code.
Customers are asked to pay a deposit between 50 cents to $1 for a Friendlier takeout container, money they get back after scanning the QR code and throwing the container out in a designated Friendlier bin.
It may seem cumbersome, but Dale says there has been a “spike” in interest since the federal government announced in June that it would ban the use of most single-use plastics, including cutlery and foodservice ware by the end of 2023.
“Brands were already looking for sustainable alternatives, but (the federal deadline) helped expedite the process and ensure it was top of mind for them,” she said.
The company has also drawn attention from Forbes magazine, which listed Dale and Hutchings among their top “30 under 30” for “leveraging business smarts to save the world.”
Emily J. Alfred of the Toronto Environmental Alliance voiced support for Friendlier's model, saying reusable plastics, are “always better for the environment than recycling.”
“The longer we keep a product in use, the lower footprint it has every time we use it,” she said, adding that recycling may curb the environmental impact of plastics, but that the huge energy costs of the recycling process remain an issue.
And she agreed that the new federal regulations would be “critical” to help push businesses towards reusable plastics.
“I think a lot of people talk about sustainability, but the regulation is the thing that is going to push a lot of them to do it,” she said. “It is not always the main reason people do it, but it might be the final nudge that gets them to get on with it right now.”
Dale says Friendlier now has more than 200 partner businesses across Ontario - including major players like Scotiabank and Loblaws - and that the company has already helped divert more than 400,000 plastic containers from landfills.
Scotiabank vice president of operations, Bob Berube, said it has Friendlier containers at four locations with cafeteria spaces and that it plans to expand the partnership.
“We determined that was a great way forward,” he said.
“By the end of this year all of our locations will have transitioned to use Friendlier for all of our takeout containers.”
Grocery giant Loblaws, which has been working on a pilot project with Friendlier since the summer, wrote in a statement that the company “has the potential to help us reduce our reliance on single-use plastics in our grocery stores.”
Friendlier also serves smaller businesses, like Ottawa's Red Apron cafe, which says the company has washed and returned about 70,000 containers over the past year.
Using Friendlier's containers has proven more expensive for Red Apron, according to co-owner Jennifer Heagle.
But, she said, businesses will ultimately have no choice but to embrace reusable plastics, and Red Apron wanted to be ahead of the curve.
“I don't think that disposable packaging is going to be an option for us as a society,” she said.
Beyond promoting reusable plastics, Friendlier has also offered a boost to some Ontario charities.
Inevitably, some customers never actually scan the code and return their container to a designated bin, meaning the small deposit remains in the restaurant or cafe's Friendlier account.
Red Apron said it had donated $12,000 of those unclaimed funds to Ottawa charities over the past year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
China's latest EV is a 'connected' car from smart phone and electronics maker Xiaomi
Xiaomi, a well-known maker of smart consumer electronics in China, is joining the country's booming but crowded market for electric cars.