From the container, the soy sauce, wasabi and ginger packets, chopsticks and other bits and pieces, a quick bite of sushi could end up with a pile of trash that’s headed for the ocean. But it doesn’t have to be like this! Here’s some things you can do to make a difference.
Rethink, reuse, recycle
To reduce waste we need to think through these steps in order. How can we rethink, reduce and redesign waste? How can we reuse? As a last resort, how can we convert waste into something valuable, like a new recycled product or compost?
Skip the fish & other single-use items
The little soy packets are a waste and, frankly, shouldn’t exist. The biggest way you can make a difference is to skip the fish – and stop using all single-use plastic whenever possible.
Re-use
Switching to reusable items will make a big difference. Ask your local sushi shop if they will let you bring your own reusable container, and take durable, washable chopsticks. If you can eat at home or the office, use a soy sauce bottle with a small dish for saucing your sushi.
If you have no choice but to use single-use plastic, try to re-use it as many times as you can. You can rinse and refill the soy fish packets by squeezing them in a shallow dish.
Use sustainable alternatives
Where single-use items are needed, they can be substituted for compostable alternatives, like Holy Carp! our home compostable soy fish dropper.
Resources for Venues
If you run a sushi restaurant, reducing waste and single-use plastics will benefit your brand and keep your local community healthy. There are some simple steps you can take to reduce your footprint:
- Always ask if customers need any single-use items and how many they need
- Provide reusable items like eat-in serve-ware and sauce pourers
- Offer a discount to customers using reusable items
- Join or start a container return scheme
- Eliminate all excess packaging
- Use compostable alternatives like our Holy Carp! soy droppers.
We've created a poster you can use to explain these changes to your customers. Download our poster.
Our mission to stop plastic at the 'sauce'
We created Light Soy to highlight the big impact of small objects on ocean plastic and encourage people to quit single-use plastic. Light Soy’s recycled ocean-bound plastic shade is making a real difference in regions most affected by plastic pollution.
To date we've funded the cleanup of over 32 tonnes of ocean-bound plastic.
We also created Holy Carp! The first home compostable soy sauce dropper, so you can enjoy sushi without leaving plastic in your wake.
