Delivery App's 'Eco-Friendly Orders' Impact... Significant Reduction in Disposable Cutlery Usage

Last Month, 73% of Orders on Baemin Opted Out of Disposable Spoons and Forks

The effect of the ‘Eco-friendly Order’ system, introduced to reduce the use of disposable spoons and forks on delivery platforms, is becoming evident. After implementing a feature in the app that provides disposable spoons and forks only upon separate request?where previously they were given by default with packaging and delivery orders?the number of consumers refusing disposable items has significantly increased. The economic benefits gained from reducing disposable items in delivery orders are also expected to continue growing.

According to Woowa Brothers, the company behind the delivery service ‘Baedal Minjok (Baemin)’, an investigation of orders that did not receive disposable spoons and forks from the 1st to the 18th of last month showed a 169.89% increase compared to the same period last year. Looking at the proportion of orders that chose not to receive disposable spoons and forks out of total orders, it was only 15% in May but rose to 73% last month. Over 80% of Baemin orders used to receive disposable utensils, but within a month, this rate dropped sharply to the 20% range.

This change is due to the modification in the ordering method starting last month, where disposable utensils are provided only upon separate request. Previously, Baemin allowed users to opt out of receiving disposable spoons and forks, but if the button was not clicked, disposable utensils were provided by default. This was changed so that disposable utensils are not provided by default and can be requested only when needed.

As orders refusing disposable items have greatly increased, the economic benefits from this have also expanded. Baemin had already achieved considerable results through the previous method that allowed customers to directly choose whether to receive disposable spoons and forks. Since April 2019, when the industry’s first ‘no disposable spoon and fork’ feature was added to the app, it is estimated that by the end of the first quarter of this year, restaurant owners saved 24.2 billion KRW on disposable item purchases and reduced waste collection costs by 6.9 billion KRW. The number of participants also reached a cumulative total of 12 million. Given the significant increase in participation due to the change in ordering method, the economic effect is expected to have grown substantially.

This effect is not limited to Baemin. Yogiyo and Coupang Eats have also been providing disposable spoons and forks only upon separate request since last month to reduce the use of disposable tableware. As environmental issues caused by plastic waste have recently come to the forefront, delivery platforms are creating an environment where both customers and restaurants can practice reducing plastic usage. An industry insider from the delivery platform sector said, “As delivery orders increase, concerns about the side effects of disposable item use are steadily rising,” adding, “Delivery platforms will continue to take the lead in discovering and applying various eco-friendly policies.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.