Just Eat Takeaway.com ramps up roll-out of sustainable packaging across UEFA competitions

Just Eat Takeaway.com, one of the main partners of all UEFA club competitions, is boosting the use of sustainable packaging across UEFA competition finals this summer.

On average, mass sporting events can generate up to seven tonnes of waste. To help reduce the use of single-use plastic packaging, Just Eat Takeaway.com is working with UEFA on a circular packaging initiative, alongside PepsiCo and Heineken fans attending the UEFA Women’s Champions League final in Eindhoven will be provided with reusable packaging when ordering their meals, which will be returned at the end of the match, washed and reused for future events. Altogether, Just Eat Takeaway.com aims to replace over 20,000 units of single-use plastic packaging as part of this trial. 

This initiative is part of Just Eat Takeaway.com’s wider strategy to find innovative solutions to reduce single-use plastic packaging, including through the use of reusables. Since 2021, Just Eat Takeaway.com has worked with different reusable packaging providers to trial the system for the food delivery sector. For the UEFA Women’s Champions League final, Just Eat Takeaway.com has extended its partnership with reusable packaging provider Vytal, that it already works with in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, to test the concept at a major sporting event. 

Last year, Just Eat Takeaway.com teamed up with Earthshot prize winner, Notpla, to provide 85,000 seaweed-lined packaging to fans across three UEFA football matches. The business is now ramping up this offer across Europe, by expanding the use of Notpla packaging even further at mass sporting events. 

As part of Just Eat Takeaway.com’s partnership with UEFA, over 175,000 of Notpla’s sustainable seaweed food packaging will be made available to football fans attending the Champions League final in Istanbul, Europa League Final in Budapest and Conference League Final in Prague, in a bid to tackle plastic pollution. The packaging, lined with seaweed, is plastic free, recyclable, home compostable and can degrade naturally within a matter of weeks, just like a piece of fruit. 

Just Eat Takeaway.com has worked with Notpla since 2018 as part of its commitment to creating a more sustainable future for food delivery, which has seen the roll out of Notpla’s seaweed-lined takeaway box across eight European markets.     

Jaz Rabadia, Head of Responsible Business and Sustainability at Just Eat Takeaway.com, said: “We’re committed to driving more sustainable behaviour across our wider community and using our global partnership with UEFA is a great opportunity for us to showcase to football fans that we can all enjoy our favourite food in a more sustainable way. We’re excited to build on the work we did last year by introducing both reusable and more sustainable single use packaging options to even more football events this year.”

Michele Uva, UEFA Social & Environmental Sustainability Director, said: “UEFA is delighted to continue the collaboration with Just Eat Takeaway to operationalise circular economy practices. Our actions are focused on finding and disseminating solutions applicable to football matches taking place across national associations, leagues and clubs in Europe to play our part in tackling environmental challenges.”

Pierre-Yves Paslier, co-founder and co-CEO of Notpla, said: "We are delighted to continue our long-standing relationship with Just Eat Takeaway.com, showcasing our ability to work together to eradicate single-use plastic at scale in some of the world's largest catering environments. Our seaweed-coated packaging allows football fans to feel good about their meal and dispose of the packaging guilt-free. With no hidden plastic, no chemicals and no confusing disposal methods, it's great to see these fans supporting our mission to make packaging disappear!"

Dr. Tim Breker, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Vytal said: "We're proud that our partnership with Just Eat Takeaway.com allows Vytal to increase the overall attention for reuse with sports fans and beyond. The adoption of reusables also in large event scenarios such as a Champions League final, is a key lever to stop waste and keep our planet healthy."