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Wagamama has announced that it is replacing over 8 million delivery bowls with new packaging made from recyclable material. The restaurant chain says the move could help to cut 330 tonnes of virgin plastic from its supply chain every year. The new packaging is made from crystallised polyethylene terephthalate (cPET), a food-safe material made from 70% recycled content. The remaining 30% of the packaging will still be made using plastics, which Wagamama claims is necessary to maintain the structural integrity of the containers. The containers are sand-coloured to ensure the bowls and lids can be easily detected by near-infrared (NIR) scanners in recycling plants. The packaging solution will help reduce the carbon footprint of Wagamama's katsu curry – its most popular dish – by 62%. Wagamama CEO Thomas Heier said: “Reducing our use of virgin plastics is a complicated mission – but one we have been dedicated to for four years. This has been driven by the belief that we needed to do better for our guests, teams and the planet.” He continued: “Months of trial and error, conversations with leading experts, and research into UK waste streams has resulted in a moment where we can finally say we’re proud of our packaging. Proving small choices make for big change, and sustainable progress doesn’t happen overnight. This is an exciting and overdue step for us but only the beginning.”