Recycling at Hello Chef: Everything you need to know

Did you know that we offer recycling at Hello Chef for your empty delivery boxes and plastic containers? Here are the answers to some of the frequently asked questions that we receive regarding our recycling efforts. We hope this helps in contributing towards your sustainable choices moving forward!

How can I recycle my items with Hello Chef?

To ensure your items are recycled, please place them outside your door in time for your next delivery. Alternatively, you can hand them to the driver when they drop-off your next box (just keep them close to the door so that you don’t forget!) All that we ask is that you rinse the plastic containers, such as the spice pots and sauce sachets, before placing them back inside your Hello Chef box for collection.

Where do you recycle the items? 

While we continue working on our mission to source eco-friendly packaging solutions, we’ve partnered with a local waste management provider – Green Arabia – to enhance our recycling efforts. All of the items that are collected by our delivery drivers are then accounted for at our facility before being delivered to Green Arabia to recycle on a weekly basis. We have recycled tens of thousands of boxes this way since partnering with Green Arabia in 2017.

What is Hello Chef doing to limit its impact on the environment? 

We don’t claim to be doing enough – we know that significant changes are necessary. We’re constantly taking steps to lower our environmental footprint and our team is building momentum in this area. Since we started the business in 2015, we have implemented a number of initiatives to help us reach this goal, including doing away with delivery bags with plastic lining and using recyclable delivery boxes instead back in 2016, to moving from plastic spice containers to spice sachets with far less plastic in 2020. As much as possible, we aim to buy local produce and have always supported this with our efforts in working with UAE businesses that produce locally, such as Kinoko, Al Khazna, Coco Yogo and Smart Gourmet. While we make every effort to accurately forecast our deliveries, any food waste that is still edible is donated weekly to the Dubai Municipality Food Bank who provide it for people in need. This further reduces the environmental impact of our own internal operations. To date, we’re proud to say we’ve donated well over AED 75,000 worth of food, and continue to do so.

Why does Hello Chef use so much plastic?

Here at Hello Chef, one of our top priorities is making sure your ingredients arrive fresh and safe in the most environmentally responsible packaging available. To achieve this, the use of plastic is still necessary today. However, we agree there is much room for improvement and are continually monitoring our plastic use. We’re also working closely with suppliers to come up with innovative ways to achieve our freshness and safety goals while reducing plastic use.

Are meal kits bad for the environment?

By providing pre-portioned ingredients for specific recipes, meal kits ensure that your meals produce no excess food waste, which is a huge plus point in terms of their environmental impact. The detrimental impact of food waste on the environment is often misconceptualised in place of tangible factors in meal kits, such as plastic and packaging. Though not to discredit the environmental impact of these elements, food that is wasted ends up in landfill where it produces methane – a harmful greenhouse gas. This is said to be 25 times more harmful than CO2. For context, if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases globally, behind China and the USA. For more supporting articles, please visit our Sustainability page.

To learn more about sustainability at Hello Chef, visit our website.

Read more: Important updates to our recipe cards

What is Hello Chef?

We are a weekly meal subscription service based in Dubai, delivering pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipe cards across the UAE. Our healthy meal delivery service means you can say goodbye to stressful meal planning and instead, spend time enjoying delicious food with loved ones. Our pre-measured, ready-to-cook boxes make it easier than ever for you to discover new flavours every week. Just choose your box size, select your recipes and let us take care of the rest.