As part of my industrial design senior thesis I explored our wasteful relationship with food and the normalization of single use, disposable to-go containers, and their harm to the environment. I found that this culture of disposable dining originated largely because restaurants found it cheaper and easier to just throw everything out than to pay for dishwashers and to make sure all the dishes are being returned. As paper and plastic manufacturing became increasingly inexpensive, disposable use caught on with fast-food establishments, and throwaway habits became deeply embedded in everyday life. This has grown to be a big problem with around 50 million fast food meals being served every day, and nearly all of them sending waste to a landfill.
By providing reusable food containers and the infrastructure to commercially wash them, Re-Go reduces food packaging waste without burdening the user or the restaurant with dishwashing.