On Sunday, January 24, 2024, Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources in Lagos, Tokunbo Wahab, announced on X that plastics and styrofoam packs have become a menace in the city.
“Following the menace which single-use plastics, especially non-biodegradable Styrofoam are causing on the environment, the Lagos State government through the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources is hereby announcing a ban on the usage and distribution of Styrofoam and other single-use plastics in the State with immediate effect.”
Following the ban, some food retail companies have made swift adjustments to their takeout orders. Food Concept Plc. — Chicken Republic, Pie Express and The Chopbox — in a statement encouraged customers to visit their outlets with their own reusable takeaway containers.
  A Case for green leaf packaging
Leaves are an age-long alternative for packaging food, but most restaurants restrict leaf packaging to local recipes such as ofada rice and moi-moi, when there’s nothing stopping them from extending it to other meals on the menu.
Why are they better than plastics?
- Leaves degrade quickly after use
- They are organic, so they contain no artificial chemicals that can pollute the environment
- Leaves are raw materials that do not need production processes that pollute the environment, unlike synthetic packaging
Also, the leaf packaging options for food service providers are endless. We checked and found seven.
MOI-MOI LEAVES
Originally used to serve the eponymous meal, moi-moi AKA bean pudding, it’s since been embraced as a packaging option for meals like ofada rice, fufu and pounded yam.
BANANA LEAVESÂ
They’re large and flexible. Besides wrapping and packaging food, they can also be used to serve food on the go. No need for plates.
PLANTAIN LEAVES
Similar to banana leaves, plantain leaves are surprisingly smaller and often rounder. However, they offer the same use.
COCO YAM LEAVES
Another broad-sized leaf that’ll make a good option for both packaging and serving meals. They’re already commonly used to wrap swallows like fufu and pounded yam, so why not creamy pasta or jollof?
TEAK LEAVES
They’re from the iconic African teak tree AKA Iroko. They come in rounded shapes that make them a great option for food packaging.
CABBAGE LEAVES
Forget that it’s one of the key salad ingredients, cabbage leaves offer some use for food packaging. The leaves have a flexible texture that makes folding and wrapping easy.
LETTUCE LEAVES
As Nigerians, cabbage and lettuce are pretty much one and the same. If we can use cabbage leaves to pack our food, we can use lettuce. It’s that simple.
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