Don’t Waste Durham is ringing in the new year with a major retooling of its flagship program, GreenToGo. With these improvements, the GreenToGo experience will now be more accessible and seamless for everyone.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with GreenToGo, ask yourself these questions: When you order take-out food from a local restaurant, do you cringe when you throw the container that the food comes in—Styrofoam or some other type of plastic—into the trash bin? Do you wonder how much trash this amounts to, and where it ends up? Does it bother you when you see this kind of trash on our streets and in our parks and waterways? Do you wish there was a less wasteful way to do take-out?
GreenToGo return station at the Durham Co-op Market.
In Durham, you’ve had an alternative to take-out in single-use containers for nearly seven years. Under the GreenToGo program, when you place an order with one of Don’t Waste Durham’s partner restaurants, you specify that you are a GreenToGo subscriber, and your food will be delivered in sturdy, reusable plastic containers. When you’re done with your food, you return the containers to stations at our partner restaurants or around the city (e.g., Northgate Park and the Durham Co-op Market). Don’t Waste Durham picks up those containers, washes and sanitizes them, and returns them to the restaurants.
This subscription-based service has resulted in the diversion of thousands of single-use items from landfills and the environment to date. At times, however, the ordering system—using a phone app and QR code to check in and check out the containers—has been cumbersome and confusing for some subscribers. For a small non-profit like Don’t Waste Durham, re-developing the app, which was removed from app stores because it was so out of date, promised to be no easy task!
Ordering simplified
Don’t Waste Durham is now addressing those issues, and more.
First — no more subscription fees! If you had an auto-pay set up, we have cancelled it, and you will not be charged again. If you want to continue supporting Don’t Waste Durham’s hard work reducing waste in Durham, please consider making a one-time or recurring donation.
Second — easier ordering! Don’t Waste Durham is working towards integrating more closely with its restaurant partners to encourage more people to use GreenToGo. You’ll soon see “GreenToGo Container” as a menu item on the restaurant's online ordering page (with a small usage fee instead of the subscription), which you can select when you order. This means no more GreenToGo mobile app or QR codes!
In gear with Geer Street Garden
Don’t Waste Durham is piloting this new setup with Geer Street Garden starting in late January. We encourage you to order take-out from Geer Street Garden to try it out—the food is excellent!—and share your thoughts. We’ll let you know when we launch!
Gear Street Garden (photo credit: Mark Wlaz)
In the meantime, Don’t Waste Durham urges you to please continue using GreenToGo whenever possible and remember to return all containers. All current restaurants will continue to be restocked, at no cost to you in the interim (except for the Geer Street Garden Pilot).
Thanks to all GreenToGo subscribers for continuing to support Don’t Waste Durham’s mission, and happy dining!