Compass Group Partners with Clients to Eliminate Single-Use Plastics

Compass Group is working with clients and guests to reduce or remove single-use items from their workplaces. As the sustainability leader in the foodservice industry, we are doing our part by pressuring suppliers to take action.

Plastic pollution is a leading environmental issue, as increasing production, consumer dependence, and low recycling-rates continue to make it difficult to properly dispose of single-use plastics. According to National Geographic, about 8 million tons of plastic waste makes its way into the oceans of coastal nations.

Through our partnership with Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, Compass is offering beverages packaged with the future of a plastic-free world in mind. The Coca-Cola Freestyle and Pepsi Spire models include touchscreen soda fountains, dispensed water solutions, and a variety of beverages in alternative packaging. Together, we are building new systems to eliminate disposable containers and identifying reusable solutions that work for our clients, and the environment.

Regarding unavoidable plastics that are used for food safety, Compass Group partners with industry leaders to divert them to recycling centers instead of ending up in our oceans or landfill.

A university campus successfully implemented a fully circular to-go program by launching the OZZI system at all residential dining halls. In under six months, they served 99% of all residential meals with a reusable OZZI container, preventing more than 10 tons of disposable waste from entering landfills.

Canteen has saved over 18 million plastic bottles from going to landfill since 2019 by installing almost 4,000 water-dispensing machines. A high-tech company and Compass client made the decision to implement a plastic-free beverage program nationwide. Because of that, over 1 million plastic bottles were saved every year by converting to dispensed drinks, and canned or glass containers.

A global insurance firm is pushing towards a plastic-free beverage program.

During the last 18 months, the Compass client committed to reducing its plastic usage by modifying vending equipment and adding more markets across its portfolio. The company is in the process of converting approximately 80,000 plastic bottles to cans in its vending program. Glass and aluminum beverages are expected to reduce plastic bottle usage by another 12,000 bottles annually.

By moving to reusables, a large Eurest campus eliminated 17,000 disposable to-go containers per month, equating to 204,000 containers each year.