Plastic waste from hot food containers during TT fortnight will be reduced this year thanks to an increase in the number of compostable items being provided by MannVend.
The Island’s leading refreshment company will be supplying many caterers at both the Grandstand and Bushy’s TT Village. In particular, event organisers Revel have ensured that their entire offering is compostable with environmentally-friendly, compostable service ware made from plants by leading compostable manufacturers, Vegware. A range of items, including plates, platters, and cups, will be used at the new informal TT hospitality experience on the Upper Colonnade Terrace at Bushy’s TT Village.
Tracey Leahy, Managing Director of MannVend, commented: “We’re really pleased to see that more and more caterers on the Island are making great efforts to reduce plastic waste. We’re supplying products to Revel that include palm plates, palm platters and cups that are all made from Areca nut palm leaves pressed into shape by a simple but ingenious, sustainable, chemical free process. These products are ideal for hot or wet foods, and fully compostable. We’re delighted to be helping to reduce plastic during TT fortnight, and in doing so showing visitors that the Isle of Man is taking practical steps to protect natural resources and the environment.”
MannVend, which is a UNESCO Biosphere Isle of Man partner, is supplying compostable ice cream tubs to Smoo, the hand-made gelato specialists that will have a stand in Bushy’s TT Village in the Villa Marina gardens.
Vegware items are also being supplied to some food outlets at the TT Grandstand, including JK Foods, Thai Thai, The Big cheese and Barista Express.
MannVend’s drive to increase the use of plastic free and compostable products has seen a number of significant achievements in recent months. In April three chip shops in Peel – The Cod and Castle, Peel Fisheries Chippy, and the Quayside Fish and Chip Shop – began using a range of compostable products made from plants, including take away coffee cups, cutlery, chip trays and burger boxes. The products – all made by Vegware and supplied by MannVend – are manufactured from a material that is 100% compostable, and not made from fossil fuels. The good news about the Peel chip shops using compostable products was welcomed by Geoffrey Boot MHK, Minister for the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA), who said he was delighted that a number of local businesses were making great efforts to reduce plastic waste, and therefore assisting with the Government’s Single-Use Plastic Reduction Plan.
