A GUILT-FREE delivery service backed by one of the UK’s most prominent conservation campaigners has launched in Glasgow and Dundee with a plan to cut single-use plastic, unnecessary packaging and transport emissions out of the industry.

ecoeats is on a mission to tackle two of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions – packaging manufacture and transportation. Every delivery is made using a bike or electric vehicle and a growing number are provided in reusable ecoboxes.

Prior to the pandemic it was estimated the UK’s consumers ordered more than 200 million meals via the industry’s three major companies – Just Eat, Deliveroo and UberEats – requiring more than a billion trays, lids and bags every year in a market worth in excess of £8 billion per annum. A Lumina Intelligence Report has since suggested the market has grown to more than £11bn during the pandemic as more people turned to takeaway deliveries.

Reduced commission rates mean independent restaurants make up to four times more profit from an order through ecoeats compared to one placed through multinational competitors such as UberEats, Deliveroo and Just Eat – and close to 100 businesses have already made the switch.

CEO Phil Houseley met co-founder and CTO Stewart McGown while studying at the University of St Andrews. Phil, 24, became increasingly aware of how the industry’s big players were exacerbating the environmental crisis during his time as a Deliveroo courier.

More than 40 businesses quickly joined the service during a successful pilot in St Andrews, and ecoeats has already delivered almost 63,000 meals to customers in the town. Now close to 100,000 orders have been delivered through the ecoeats service with Glasgow and Dundee on board.

Phil said: “We believe in delivering a fairer deal to independent restaurants and our environment. I saw first-hand how poorly restaurant owners were treated with excessive commissions. I was also shocked at the volume of deliveries made by mainstream delivery companies using unbranded carbon-emitting vehicles, and the sheer waste in food delivery packaging.

“With COP26 now upon us and the eyes of the world on Glasgow, this is the perfect place and time to begin to transform the takeaway industry from carbon producer to completely net-zero.

“We’re incredibly proud to be based in Scotland, paying taxes in Scotland and creating local Scottish jobs, while every single customer, rider or merchant on our platform is actively making the world better by reversing the greenhouse emission and single-use plastic epidemic.”

The company aims to replace single-use plastics and packaging across the whole of the UK’s takeaways with the support of high-profile environmental campaigner Julia Davies.

Juila, a founding shareholder of outdoor equipment giant Osprey Europe, is supporting ecoeats’ mission to replace single-use packaging for takeaways with reusable, returnable containers.
The entrepreneur and Green Innovation investor has invested in a number of companies tackling single use waste by promoting reusables, and is backing ecoeats with £200,000 to trial reusable containers for delivered food.

Julia said: “Whilst more people may be aware of the problems caused by single use plastic, the amount of single use waste generated by the UK continues to rise. The Government and big businesses could tackle this problem but they aren’t. That’s why I’m putting my faith in the talented and innovative ecoeats team who are giving consumers the choice right now to enjoy their favourite delivered food without adding to the single use plastic crisis.

“The big players in the food delivery industry are dragging their heels in tackling the waste mountain they profit from. I’m delighted to be able to give ecoeats a leg-up as they begin to show that a better more sustainable way to eat is possible.”

Among those who have eschewed mainstream rivals, favouring the environmentally friendly alternative, is MAYZE. The vegan cafe is located on Argyll Street in Glasgow, just a short walk from where delegates from around the world will descend to discuss action on climate change.

Mayze founder Gillian McIntyre believes making the switch to ecoeats was a simple one.

She said: “The sustainability of the future will be the result of the choices we make every day – choosing the right one is our responsibility and it’s important that businesses take the initiative. A zero-emission delivery service is one of those simple choices and ecoeats is that choice.”

Participating restaurants deliver food using the ecoboxes, which are then collected by couriers at customers’ convenience, washed and sanitised, then put back into circulation.

Following the successful pilot project in St Andrews, customers in Glasgow and Dundee can now order takeaways via the ecoeats app (available on the app store). The company is planning to offer its service in cities across the UK by the end of 2022.