CANADA – American fast-food restaurant chain, KFC had announced that select restaurants in Canada will begin testing a new fibre-based ‘spork’ in December in an effort to test a sustainability plan that will see the elimination of millions of plastics from its production chain.
The fast-food chain says that beyond the testing period, it plans to permanently introduce the compostable cutlery across the entire Canadian chain eliminating up to 40 million pieces of plastic waste from its operations.
According to KFC, the new ‘spork’ combines fork and spoon into one and is made from bamboo, corn and sugarcane.
The fast-food chain popular for its signature chicken recipes further notes that the spork is compostable at room temperature – breaking down into biomass, carbon dioxide and water.
The entire decomposition process according to KFC will take about 18 months requires no additional treatment and leaves no toxic by-products.
“Operating sustainably has always been part of our DNA. We will continue to invest and innovate to protect the communities we operate in as well as the world around us,” said Nivera Wallani, President and General Manager, KFC Canada.
“Moving to a compostable, fibre-based cutlery is one of many highlights in our journey to eliminate harmful plastics and waste from our business. We hope this sets an example for the food industry and keeps us collectively moving forward.”
Nivera Wallani – President and General Manager, KFC Canada.
Sustainability is not new to KFC Canada. Earlier this year, the franchise announced that by the end of 2021 it will remove 12 million plastic poutine containers from its operations by switching to a bamboo packaging solution.
Additionally, within the last year, KFC says that it eliminated 50 million plastic straws, 10 million plastic bags and 22 million Styrofoam containers from its system – replacing them all with fibre-based alternatives.
“We are always striving to reduce our environmental footprint. After achieving several major sustainability milestones recently we’ve started pushing further and looking at all aspects of the customer experience – right down to the cutlery in our restaurants,” said Armando Carrillo, Food Innovation Manager, KFC Canada.
“Our new cutlery takes very little from the earth to make and doesn’t harm it when we’re done with it.”
Liked this article? Subscribe to Food Business Africa News, our regular email newsletters with the latest news insights from Africa and the World’s food and agro industry. SUBSCRIBE HERE
